Onegai, All Might! (Please, All Might!)
by baconmargherita
Summary: Chizuru Namikawa, having a job as a local newspaper editor was given a once in a lifetime opportunity to have a one-on-one interview with the greatest, and number 1 hero of all time who is none other than All Might. From then on, her admiration for him began to change and develop into something deeper the more that she got to know him, his life, and even his secrets.
1. Chapter 1: Picturesque

_Oi! All might is here!_

 _He's finally appeared!_

 _Quick, grab the camera!_

People from the media were suddenly quick on their feet, gathering in a swarm and encircling All Might as he first emerged from U.A. Academy. It was their most awaited moment.

Flashes going on and off; sounds of the camera snapping from multiple directions; and a roar of infinite questions from the media all erupted in just a split second.

 _All Might, what was your reason behind applying as a teacher at U.A. Academy?_

 _How do you teach and train your students?_

 _Is it harder now to fulfill your duties as the number one hero now that you've started teaching?_

Microphones were also popping up from the enraged crowd as they were squeezing and pushing against each other, trying to poke their microphones and recorders to All Might's direction.

" _Shimatta_. Looks like they've all been waiting for me here!" All Might stated, followed by a hearty laugh while scratching the back of his neck.

"Chizuru-san! Over there! Let's try to get around this crowd!" My friend Ryoka told me, suddenly taking hold of my wrist and dragging me with her while searching for an opening we could get into.

But at this rate, I knew it was already impossible. We could no longer force to squeeze ourselves in that riot. I guess we could, but we would only put ourselves in danger.

"Dame! If we try to get in there we'll have nothing but our bones crushed." I told Ryoka as I pryed my wrist off her grip.

"But Chizuru... We waited for hours..." Ryoka groaned with an upset face.

"I-I know..." I muttered feeling very upset as well. The grip on the microphone I was holding tightened with what now seemed to be frustration.

 _I love being a newspaper editor. But this part of the job is such a pain in the ass! But I can't let our efforts go to waste. I just can't!_

"Ryoka, hold this and give me your camera!" I instructed Ryoka as a sudden idea popped from my head; frantically giving my microphone to Ryoka in exchange for her camera.

"Wha-what!?" Ryoka uttered in confusion as she subconsiously took the microphone from me and gave me her camera.

"Now give me a ride on your shoulders! Quick!"

"E-Ehh!? F-For what!? Chizuru are you crazy?"

"Pictures! I-I need to take pictures! Please Ryoka-san let me ride on your shoulders!" I begged her. I knew she was more fit to carry me because she was alot taller than me.

"O-Okay!" Ryoka was looking at me all wide-eyed and confused, but she agreed anyway and began to lower her back. I climbed onto her in a piggy back ride style and she slowly got up as her knees trembled most probably from my weight.

"God you're heavy! Just what are you planning to do, Chizuru? Hurry up because I won't be able to hold you for long!" Ryoka warned me while trying her best to gain composure.

" _H-Hai_!"

When Ryoka hoisted me up, it was then that I was able to see All Might's whole figure clearly. Some of the other heroes from the Academy were now with him as they tried to drive away the persistent media.

 _This is it. Our chance! I should at least get a decent picture of All Might! Now if he'd just look at me... Even just for a second!_

I could see that All Might was starting to retreat back to the Academy as he was the cause of this mayhem. I could also hear police sirens arriving at the scene as the teachers probably called them to help control the situation.

I started to panic. _How can I make him look at me?_

"Oy, Chizuru-san! H-Hurry up!" Ryoka yelled and warned at me from below.

I knew my idea was hopeless. The crowd of media was just too loud with everyone shouting and asking questions at the same time. But despite knowing that my plan probably had zero chances, it was better to try than to give up entirely.

"A-All Might!" I began shouting as loud as I could. My throat was itching and turning hoarse.

 _Dammit, he's not looking! He can't hear me! This is useless!_

I was fighting off my pessimistic mind while continuously shouting at the top of my lungs and simultaenously waving one of my arms frantically in the air. Anything- _anything_ to get All Might's attention! But doing so just disrupted Ryoka's balance and the both of us started wiggling and panicking.

 _Please All Might, just one glance!_ I was silently praying hard inside my head; once again shouting his name as loud as I could, despite my throat hurting, as if I was crying for dear life.

Then, like a god hearing and granting my prayers, All Might suddenly turned his head around in my direction. Without even activating my quirk, I could actually sense and sort of absorb this powerful mass of energy emanating from him as he was finally looking at me. It was warm, strong, and tranquil at the same time. Everything radiating from his was just indescribable.

With my hands shaking and my heart beating abnormally fast, I hurriedly steadied the camera and angled at his face. I zoomed in on his muscular physique and at that moment, the scene was beyond perfect.

His blonde hair glistened in the color of rich gold, as if on cue when the sun's rays shone above his head. There was also quite a strong gust of wind that came from the west, making All Might's royal blue cape from behind flap to his side dramatically. When seen from afar, a dark shadow seems to cast over his face almost covering his eyes.

But I was able to see them. Perhaps the camera even enhanced everything better as his eyes were of deeper blue color than the usual. They were stern and fearless; his irises shone with hope. All Might was the perfect definition of the greatest, number one hero. I couldn't help but feel struck, staring at the symbol of peace itself.

Then he gave me a broad smile. As expected, his teeth were dazzling white and perfect. Without hesitation, I clicked on the snap button multiplte times, capturing that exquisite moment.

"Everyone get back! Those who won't will be cuffed and forced to go with the police!" One of the officers who made his way to the center yelled from his megaphone.

Everyone began to bawl in dismay as more and more police officers came into the area. The media had no choice but to back away and All Might was being shoved back inside the Academy by one of the teachers. He now looked away and turned his head around.

"Ch-Chizuru! I-I can't hold it anymore! You're too heavy!" Ryoka's body began to tremble as she slowly tried to sit down on the ground so I could hop off.

"Uagh! My shoulders and my entire back hurts!" Ryoka exclaimed as she tried to massage her lower back.

The people were backing away now and we would get wedged between this crowd if we didn't move. I offered Ryoka my hand to help her stand up. Her face was all red from exhaustion too.

We all heard the gates of U.A. Academy close. Of course, most people were mad saying that U.A. was very rude to shut us off. The crowd was finally thinning out as people now began leaving the place; disappointment and irritation etched on their faces.

"Oi, Chizuru-san! What the heck were you doing a while ago? Shouting "All Might" and waving your hands like a lunatic?" Ryoka began questioning me.

"Were you at least able to take a picture of All Might?"

"Y-Yes! And you're not gonna believe how good of a shot it was!" I told her excitedly despite my voice sounding raspy and harsh.

I quickly showed Ryoka the shots I've made of the visually attractive and stunning All Might. I watched as her eyes widened with awe.

" _Suge na_... All Might looks really cool! You captured him perfectly, Chizuru!" Ryoka exclaimed happily.

I was very happy indeed. In fact, I could still feel his energy reverberating inside me. My heart has calmed down now as well. I couldn't stop picturing those blue eyes and that wide smile... And it wasn't just any smile. He was smiling at me. He noticed me. All Might was really something.

"Chizuru-san? _Ne,_ are you alright?" Ryoka asked me while waving his hand in front of my face. I blinked.

"E-Eh?"

"You seemed to be spacing out. Are you okay? You're still thinking about All Might, aren't you?"

I felt a hot gush of blood on my cheeks and I gave out a nervous chuckle.

"He's just really amazing..." I answered.

"Of course, that's the number one hero for ya! Now let's get going and show this to the chief! I bet he's gonna be real happy with this!" Ryoka squealed in delight. We both got our stuff ready to get back on the studio. But for some reason after hearing what Ryoka said, I began to feel uncertain.

It's like I didn't want to share the picture with anyone. After showing this to the chief, I'm certain that it will be all over the newspapers. It might even appear on TV where everyone would see it. It would appear that he would be smiling right in front of everyone. Not for me.

For some reason, I didn't want that. I wanted to keep the picture all to myself. It was selfish of me but of course, I knew I couldn't do that.

"Right, let's show this to the chief!" I said enthusiastically.

Ryoka began dialing in her phone for a cab to pick us up and head to the studio. The cab came five minutes later. We went inside and I sat next to the driver's seat. The car eventually drove off and as we were passing by the Academy, I leaned in the car window beside me; remembering everything about how All Might noticed me. I could still picture him standing by the gate. I smiled to myself.

 _He really is amazing. I hope a bizarre moment like that would come again_. I muttered inside my head as the cab drove farther and farther away from the sight of U.A. Academy.


	2. Chapter 2: Just a hunch

"Why, this is amazing! Who took this?" Our editor-in-chief and also my boss, Watari Yamamoto told us as me and Ryoka showed him the pictures I took of All Might. We were now inside his small office surrounded by framed certificates aligned in the walls that our newspaper articles have gotten over the years.

"Chizuru did." Ryoka replied proudly, smiling at me. I smiled back at her.

"But chief.. I'm afraid we weren't able to ask him questions and interview him. There were just too many people standing by outside U.A. when we arrived.." I confessed glumly in front of our chief.

"No worries, Chizuru. I'm sure we could use this stunning photo you took of him in other news stories." Chief Yamamoto answered sternly with his fingers holding his chin and his head slowly bobbing up and down. It seems to me that he's already thinking.

"I-I'll be sure to get him next time! I promise!" I told him with pure determination as I balled my fists tightly to my side.

"I'm sure you will. I know it's hard to get information, let alone interview All Might. I doubt he's going to say yes easily. We just have to find another way somehow." The chief replied; narrowing his eyes while looking down at his desk and eventually closing them.

"Don't worry about it chief. We'll keep trying and think of other ways, right Chizuru-san?" Ryoka glanced at me with hope in her eyes. I firmly nodded my head in agreement.

"The both of you should go and take your breaks. I'm sure you girls are hungry from all that waiting." Chief Yamamoto stood up from his seat, walked toward us and patted our shoulders. I smiled. Yamamoto-san is so kind and he's actually concerned about his co-workers. I'm really lucky to have him as my boss.

• • •

"So where do you wanna eat?" Ryoka suddenly asked me as soon as she closed the chief's door from behind her. The last time I checked from the chief's digital clock, it was already past 2 in the afternoon.

I didn't answer.

"Chizuru-san!" Ryoka called at my attention.

"Eh? _G-gomen..._ " I apologized. My mind was already running busy, thinking of ways on how we could finally get ahold of All Might.

"You're thinking up of something again, aren't you?" Ryoka heaved out a sigh and chuckled.

"Yeah. I just can't figure out how we can get in contact with All Might."

"Stop thinking about work first. You probably can't think properly because of your empty stomach."

My stomach suddenly growled as if she just heard what Ryoka said. My face flushed in embarassment.

"Haha! See? Now let's go and grab something to eat together."

"O-Okay..." I muttered as I followed Ryoka who was already walking and I caught up to her side.

• • •

We ended up having some fried tempura with cold drinks in a little shop down at the city food square. While eating, there were flashing news about a hero catching a burglar red-handedly in an urban city nearby that came up on a television screen which was hanging up in a wall. The burglar was now seen to be cuffed by a police officer and was now being dragged inside the police car.

My mind suddenly wandered off to All Might again. So far, no one has been able to answer the questions arising from his sudden application as a teacher in U.A. Academy-the school which he graduated from as well. All Might didn't really like entertaining the media. The more you gave in to them, their persistence towards you would just typically get worse. It was an obvious and acceptable reason.

But I had a job to do. I was so determined to be the very first person that All Might would speak up to about these controversies. If only there was some way that we could get close to him.. Given that he'd actually allow me to talk to him one on one.

And if he does allow me, that would just bring my heart so much joy. I love that guy so much that I honestly wouldn't mind even if he wrote his autograph down on my forehead with permanent marker. The fact that he smiled at me this morning was enough to detroit smash my heart with pure happiness.

After we finished eating, me and Ryoka payed our bills and left the shop.

"Say, Ryoka.. What else do we have to do today?" I suddenly asked Ryoka as we were walking on the side pavement heading back to the studio.

"Hmm? Well there are still some papers and stories that need to be checked before printing them for the final output." She answered.

"Why do you ask?"

I suddenly stop my feet from walking and when Ryoka notices this, she does the same.

"Chizuru-san? Is everything okay?" She looks back and calls at me with her brows furrowed down with confusion.

It took me a few to seconds to answer.

"Ryoka, can you please do me a favor and cover me for the remaining day?" I asked her.

"What? Why? Are you going somewhere?"

"Yeah... I'm gonna try and wait for All Might again today." I answered.

"He's probably not gonna appear out of that gate any time soon, Chizuru.. I bet he's going to be a lot more careful now." Ryoka told me; her eyes clearly saying that she's disagreeing with me.

"I just have to try. I don't know but I've got this weird feeling inside me. Just one last time today." I insisted.

"But Chizuru.."

"Please, Ryoka? I'm sure Yamamoto-san would understand as well. You know me. I just can't sit still when there's some opportunity screaming at the back of my head." I continued to plead with her.

Ryoka shook her head. "You're unbelievable." She sighed but ended up smiling afterwards.

"Oh alright I'll tell the chief and cover for you. But just for today, okay? Don't think you can get away with this anytime you want." Ryoka continued as she folded her arms to her chest.

"Thank you so much, Ryoka!" I rejoiced and quickly pulled her in for a tight hug. She was chuckling and patting my back.

"It's nothing. You're my friend after all. Just make sure that you don't intend to stay there for _too_ long. It's dangerous to be all alone." Ryoka reminded me just like how a good friend would do.

"Yep, I promise." I replied very cheerfully. Ryoka nodded her head in response and we soon parted ways. I then took out my phone and dialed a cab to deliver me to U.A. Academy once again.

• • •

The ride to U.A. Academy took 30 minutes in total. I grabbed my phone in my pocket and checked the time. It read: **3:42 pm.**

The tall gates of U.A. High School greeted me once again. This time, I was the only person in the streets. As expected, the front entrance was barred shut. I couldn't even hear anything from inside the academy. They've secured the place so much that getting information from inside these walls was as hard as searching for a needle in a haystack.

In order to avoid suspicion and possibly getting arrested by the police for mistaking me for intrusion, I decided to wait a few meters away from the school. I could still see the entrance from this distance so I plopped down on the grass, keeping myself from being exposed by hiding behind a tree. And so I waited.

And waited...

And waited.

I kept on glancing over the school to see if there was anything new-patiently waiting and watching for anyone who's coming out or coming in. An hour has quickly passed but nothing and no one came. I was starting to lose my patience.

Just this morning, me and Ryoka waited for three hours in front of U.A. Academy when news spread that All Might was now teaching at the said school. Waiting was a lot easier then since I had someone to converse with. But at my current situation, I was getting annoyed. I couldn't even use my phone to play games because the battery was about to get drained.

I layed my entire body on the grass and tried to relax. I shouldn't get stressed out. Good things come to those wait, right?

I closed my eyes for a bit and that scene from this morning of All Might flashing his smile at me replayed in my head all over again.

 _All Might..._

 _Where are you?_


	3. Chapter 3: A missed opportunity

I didn't realize it, but I was able to fall asleep. I had no idea how long it was, but from the sight of it when I was waking up, the sky was already dark. There weren't even any stars-like a darker shade of navy blue paint merely coated the earth.

"Shit!" I exclaimed as I immediately jotted up and scrambled to check the time on my phone.

"6:40!? Heck, it's almost 7 pm!" I cried in disbelief.

 _Chizuru, what a complete idiot! What if All Might already passed by the gate while you were fast asleep!? Aaahhh!_ Baka, baka, baka!

I scolded myself over and over again. Now I was almost certain that I wouldn't get to see All Might today. I wanted to slap myself so hard. All I did here was waste time!

My frustration was suddenly put to a stop when my ears recognized what seemed to be the sound of steel and heavy metal unbolting.

 _C-Could it be!?_

I frantically turned my head around and I was instantly regained with hope when I saw the gates of U.A. slowly springing open. I positioned myself behind the tree again to hide, peeking at the scene with only one eye.

 _God, I hope it's All Might. Please let it be All Might. Please, please!_

My eyes were filled with so much anticipation until someone finally came out, but it wasn't who I was expecting.

Instead, it was a kid with messy dark green hair, who was probably around the ages of 15-16 wearing U.A.'s school uniform. He had his hands holding both of his backpack straps just a little below the level of his armpits as he was walking; probably about to head home. He was a rather cute kid but nonetheless, it wasn't All Might. My face and my mood instantly sulked.

 _Ugh! I give up!_ I mumbled to myself, shaking my head as I carelessly slumped back behind the tree. I grabbed my backpack beside me and stood up, patting away the grass and dirt in my shirt and pants. Ready to book a cab so I could head home and spend the rest of the night crying over how unproductive I was, I was startled when a loud and familiar voice suddenly resonated through the area.

"Midoriya-shounen!"

 _That voice..._

I looked back and suddenly froze. There he was, all height and muscles, approaching that green-haired kid with his signature wide smile plastered on his face. Even with this distance, I could feel his glowing energy very well as if we were just standing next to each other.

"A-All Mi-"

"All Might?" Both me and the U.A. student with green hair whose name seems to be Midoriya said in unison. Although mine only came out as a whisper.

Returning to not-so-hidden-ninja-mode, I watched the both of them closely. They seemed to be talking about something although I couldn't really hear and make sense of what they were talking about. The conversation ended with All Might patting the top of the young boy's head and giving him what looks like a highly approving thumbs up. The boy was then obviously overjoyed as his cheeks went red and his eyes while looking at All Might were wide and almost sparkling.

I smiled at the scene in front of me. I thought they were cute, like a father giving his son some inspirational talk. Until the cute kid waved good bye to All Might and started leaving while All Might remained where he was, as if he was watching the boy proudly behind his back. Any second now and he'd probably go back to the school.

 _Shit. I didn't even come up with a plan on how I'm going to approach him._

I gripped my bag tightly, thinking hard.

 _Just call him. That's right. Talking about the interview would have to come later. For now, just get his attention. Come on Chizuru, you can do it!_

"All Mi-"

His head suddenly turned, but not to my direction. My voice stopped and all of a sudden, I couldn't speak as if something was stuck in my throat. From the academy, another guy emerged. Only this time he wasn't a student. A teacher, probably. The man was tall and slender, wearing a ragged black outfit that consists of a long-sleeved shirt and matching pants that tuck into his boots. His hair was also black and messy which was weighing down up to the length of his shoulders.

 _For real though. Does everyone at U.A. have messy hair..?_

He seemed to be the reason All Might turned around. He probably called him and now All Might was walking away, catching up to the guy with messy hair.

All this time, all I've done was watch him. For the second time in a row that I got interrupted, I couldn't speak. The thought of calling All Might suddenly made me really nervous. The gates of U.A. now appeared to be closing too.

 _No! No, no, wait!_

But I couldn't do or say anything. I was stuck. The gaps between the gate grew thinner and thinner and the vision I had inside of All Might was slowly disappearing. Until the gates finally boomed shut once again.

 _No..._

That was it. I missed my chance. Whatever the reason was that I couldn't call out to him, I got so angry with myself that I started punching the tree and stomping on the ground like a kid throwing tantrums.

 _Ah, just what the hell, Chizuru!? So stupid!_

My phone suddenly lit up and vibrated inside my pocket. Someone was calling. I stopped my childish tantrums and got my phone out. It was Ryoka calling me.

 _Great. She'll probably say the words"I told you so" over and over again._

"Hey, Ryoka..." I said right after hitting the answer button.

"Chizuru-san! Where are you?"

"I'm still here at U.A. Academy."

"Well what happened? Were you able to see All Might?"

I wasn't able to answer right away. I was just so frustrated that I remained silent.

"Chizuru-san? Are you there?" Ryoka was calling my attention again.

" _H-Hai_." I answered.

"What's wrong? You sound really worn out. Is everything alright?" Ryoka asked me again with worry in her voice.

"I'm fine, Ryoka." I managed to release a small smile. "It's just... Things didn't go the way that I had hoped for." I sighed heavily.

"So you didn't meet All Might, huh.. See I told you it was going to be hard." Ryoka told me just as I expected.

"You should probably go home. Reports of villains popping up these days are rising more than the usual. It's dangerous to be by yourself especially at night." She continued.

" _Hai, hai._ I was about to call a cab to go home. Thanks, Ryoka." I replied. At the back of my head though, little subconscious me was yelling while thrashing her arms wildly, Lies! You weren't about to call a cab, you were punching a tree!

"Oh, and Chizuru-san?"

"Hmm?"

"Don't feel too bummed out, alright? We'll just have to keep trying." Ryoka added. I could sense that she was giving me one of her reassuring smiles at the other end of the phone. Picturing it lightened my mood a little.

I nodded my head and smiled. "Right."

Ryoka finally ended the call after saying good bye and that I should take care. With my phone having 7% left on the battery, I then booked for a cab so I could finally head home and get some rest.

 **(All Might's POV)**

I couldn't help but get that kind of feeling that someone was watching you the moment I stepped outside of U.A.

I chased after young Midoriya before he could go home so I could congratulate him, seeing his hard work and serious effort he was giving. U.A's activities had been extremely tough especially to those enrolled in the hero course. As expected of the top hero academy in Japan, they sure weren't making it easy for the students. Therefore as young Midoriya's teacher and mentor, it was my job to uplift the kid's spirit, encourage him, and make him recognize his own potential.

It was then while I was giving him my "hopefully inspiring" hero talk that I was suddenly hit with that strong sense of feeling of being watched. Even after Midoriya left, I hung outside for a while to see if anything would happen. I was also careful not to give myself away that I was aware of being watched-scanning the area only from the corner of my eyes.

But Aizawa, my co-teacher and fellow pro hero (going by his hero name Eraserhead) emerged and suddenly interrupted my search. He wanted to talk to me about a few students from the class of 1-A, which was also the class Midoriya belonged to.

"Sure thing. But just a minute, I need to check something outside." I informed Aizawa.

"What's going on?" Aizawa asked me.

"I can't help but feel that someone is watching me. I'll just take a look around. For the safety of everyone in U.A. as well." I answered while staring back at the gate.

"I'll be inside. And for the last time, stop being careless and watch out for the media." Aizawa sounded a little annoyed while reminding me.

"Ah, I'm sorry about that. But that won't happen again." I shrunk back to my original, skeletal-like form with huge puffs of cloud and smoke going off of my body. Blood began spilling wildly from my mouth as I started coughing.

 **(Toshinori's POV)**

"I'm going out in this form so I won't get people's attention." I said. Aizawa didn't respond and proceeded back to the academy.

Deciding not to pass by the main entrance in case it would draw too much attention even with this form, I went around the school for another exit route to begin my search.

While scanning the perimeter, I wasn't able to find anyone or anything suspicious. That feeling of being watched for some reason wasn't wearing on my back anymore. It faded.

 _That's weird. Maybe it was all in my head after all._ I thought to myself.

 _Did slowly losing my powers also come with insanity as a side effect?_

Eventually, I saw one person standing beside the lamppost just across U.A.'s main gate entrance. She had her back on me but seeing her short brown hair and clothing seemed awfully familiar to me.

 _What is she doing and why is she all alone?_ I wondered.

 _Doesn't she know that it's especially dangerous for a woman to be out here by herself at night?_

I decided to approach her and possibly give her a friendly reminder to be careful. Even with the current Toshinori Yagi form and not possessing the hero-like features of All Might, it was still my duty to keep the people safe from harm.

The closer I got to her, I could see that she was staring down on her phone, looking rather impatient.

"Excuse me miss, is everything alright?"


	4. Chapter 4: Yagi Toshinori

**(Toshinori's POV)**

The woman seemed to flinch upon hearing my voice and she turned around to look at me. I was surprised. I immediately recognized her as that girl from the media this morning.

That same girl who was screaming All Might at the top of her lungs, sounding so passionate and hopeful that it just rose above all the obnoxious noise the media was making. She came back.

Her hair was brown and short, the length of which is just below the level of her chin. She also had pasty skin-almost porcelain like-and her big, hazel eyes were staring right back at me, looking very surprised as well. She was pretty, reminding me of a doll.

"All Might..?" She mumbled.

At the escape of those words, my whole body instantly froze.

 _H-How does this woman know that I'm All Might even in this form? And she's from the media as well!_

My heart was beating so fast and I was breaking into a cold sweat while having arguments with myself.

 _No. No, that would be impossible for an outsider to know. Calm down, Toshinori! Just play it safe..._

"Er, w-what?" I nervously chuckled and asked while trying my best to look very confused.

"That's All Might's costume.." She said while eyeing my costume and looking rather bewildered.

It was at that moment that I realized how badly I fucked up. I wanted to punch my face so hard, thinking how dumb and in a hurry I was in checking the area for villains that I forgot to strip off of my hero costume.

I guess the greatest hero isn't all that great when it comes to making decisions sometimes. _Shit. Aizawa's going to kill me!_

"O-Oh, well t-this is uh-" I was struggling for words, hoping to come up with a lame excuse to get out of this situation when she suddenly cut me off.

"You must be a fan of All Might as well!" She exclaimed, giving me a wide smile.

"What? O-Oh um... Yeah! I am. I mean, that's why I'm wearing his costume hehe..." I replied, smiling nervously.

 _Of course she'll see me as just another fan. She ended up creating an excuse for me. See, nothing to worry about!_

"Who wouldn't be? He's amazing." She then smiled sweetly and appeared to be lost in thought, as if recalling a pleasing memory. She suddenly seemed so happy.

"Yeah, he is.." I answered. Deciding to steer away the conversation from All Might to avoid getting exposed, I began to ask her my original purpose why I planned to approach her in the first place.

"So um.. What are you doing out here all alone? It's dangerous."

"Well surprisingly, I couldn't book a cab. No one's picking up.. I thought maybe it's because no one's near enough to accept." Looking rather distressed, she glanced back at her phone again.

"I've been standing here for more than five minutes."

"I see. You must live far away from here for you to book for a cab."

"Yeah, probably about 30 minutes. Today has been a really bad day for me." She shrugged.

"Guess I'll wait right here until someone decides to pick up and your cab arrives." I told her. Her face suddenly sprang up to look at me.

"E-Eh? You don't have to do that! Thank you, really, but I'll be fine on my own!" She explained, wearing an apologetic and embarrassed smile.

Still, I decided that I wouldn't leave her until a cab arrives to bring her home to safety.

"Like I said, it's dangerous. Don't worry, you can trust me. I'm not a villain." I told her reassuringly.

"I may not be All Might, but I also wouldn't let anything bad happen to you. I am wearing his costume after all." I then laughed at myself for how silly I sounded.

I noticed a faint blush spreading across her face, giving her cheeks a rosy color. She was cute.

"W-Well if you insist..." She looked away and mumbled shyly.

"M-My name is Chizuru, by the way..." She added, still refusing to look at me as she was probably still embarrassed.

"Yagi, Toshinori." I replied back. It seemed refreshing, still being able to act heroically despite being in this form.

"Right, I should um.. Try booking for a cab again so you wouldn't have to wait long.." She muttered back to her phone she was holding.

"Don't worry about me. It's okay to wait." I responded.

There was a moment of silence between us as Chizuru was waiting patiently for a cab to accept her destination. I suddenly thought about Aizawa who was probably still waiting for me inside the academy.

I guess I should tell him that I did a thorough search outside, so it took me quite long. If I told him that I talked to a civilian outside while still wearing my costume, he'd certainly tell it to the others and it might reach the principal's attention.

"Someone picked up!" Chizuru exclaimed happily all of a sudden, disrupting my thoughts.

"Oh that's good! How far is he?" I asked her.

"5 minutes and the cab will be here. Ah, I'll finally be able to get home! Thank you as well, Yagi-san!" She replied and thanked me, sounding relieved.

I gave her a small grin. "It's no problem."

"Anyway er, Yagi-san..." Chizuru continued a few seconds later.

"Yes?"

"I was just wondering. Why are you wearing a costume of All Might?" She asked me, looking down at the costume with wonder once again.

"Did you buy this? It's beautiful. Plus it just seems so... Real." To my surprise, Chizuru suddenly touched my arm and felt the fabric that the costume was made out of. I flinched at the sudden contact and we both seemed to blush at the same time.

"Oh, I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to..." She quickly apologized, stuttering and not meeting my eyes.

"Ehe.. It's okay, it's okay... I-I was just shocked." I told her, chuckling while scratching the back of my head.

"Actually... The reason I'm out here is because of All Might." Chizuru blurted out. She then pressed her lips, keeping her gaze down on her feet and looking rather sad.

"Why?" My eyes narrowed as I focused my gaze on her. I was eager to know why she came back all alone and why her response came with such a sad expression.

"I actually work as a newspaper editor. Me and my friend, we were out here this morning waiting for him; along with this huge crowd of media also waiting for All Might to come outside U.A. Academy." She began her story.

"I wanted to interview him for an article we were planning on writing, so we waited for about three hours. When he finally came out, we weren't able to get near him.. Everyone got wild and they surrounded him at once."

"I didn't give up though. This may seem a little funny but I persuaded my friend to let her carry me on her back because I wanted to take a photo of All Might at the very least." She ended up giggling afterwards, probably remembering the scene.

In my mind, I was able to recall what she was telling me. One of the reasons she stood out was because she was insanely taller than everyone else. It turns out that she was riding at someone's back-all so she could get my attention.

I chortled. _What a silly thing to do, indeed._

"So were you able to take a picture of him?" I pretended to ask her, despite knowing the result.

The shine on Chizuru's eyes returned and she instantly broke out into an animated smile upon hearing my question.

"Yes! After all that shouting, you wouldn't believe it but he looked at me! And not just that... He actually smiled at me! Yagi-san, it was amazing! Perfect, even. I can't help but think that it's going to be one of my most memorable experiences."

As she was telling me her story, Chizuru was looking up at the blank, night sky so wonderfully as if she were daydreaming. It was a chilly kind of night but the way she relayed her experience to me warmed my heart and left me feeling astonished.

It was my first time seeing someone so enthused and excited over me. Well, taking aside my young Midoriya Izuku. I know that boy loved me ever since he was a kid, but he tends to get shy about it when I'm personally around.

It's probably because Chizuru doesn't know that All Might and this random, skinny person she just met on the street is actually the same person. Then again, it always comes out as a shock to me that I'm able to make people feel this way. If anyone asks me what my favorite part of being a hero is, besides saving people and serving them smiles, I'd say that sensational feeling of being one of the reasons why people can wear such beaming smiles on their faces.

"You seem to really love All Might, don't you?" I gave her a teasing smirk. Chizuru blushed instantly. I guess she turns shy pretty fast.

"W-Well of course a lot of people love him. He's the number one hero after all, ehe.." She looked away as she replied, fanning herself with one hand and tittering afterwards.

"Um anyway.. That's why I came back alone. I was hoping maybe I'd catch him this time. I waited for him again but... Heh," She shook her head this time. "No luck again."

I didn't respond. Rather I may have been staring at her while contemplating a few things I had in my mind.

 _She really waited such long hours for me? And to come back here still waiting up until this hour... It would have been my fault if something bad happened to her while she was waiting out here alone._

"I won't give up though. And it's not just because I have a job to fulfill but... I guess you could say it's my dream to get to talk to him in person someday." Chizuru continued, forming a small and hopeful smile.

Both our heads suddenly turned to the direction of two flashing headlights emitting from a vehicle that was driving from a distance. It was coming to our direction.

"Oh that must be my ride home.." Chizuru stated.

"Yagi-san, t-thank you." She turned to me and said.

"I ended up telling a lot of things to someone I've just met haha.. But thank you. Yagi-san.. You were really nice." She sounded shy while saying this. The cab came in a few seconds later, halting at the side right across me and Chizuru. The cab honked its horn, an indication that she's about to leave now. But I still had some things in mind left unsaid.

"Ch-Chizuru," I managed to say before she could turn around and leave.

"Hmm?"

"I actually know All Might." I stated. _Shit. Toshinori, what the hell are you saying?_

"Y-You do?" She asked, astounded.

"Yes. He's a close friend of mine and truth is, I also work at U.A. Academy."

 _Do you even hear yourself right now?_

Chizuru was silent. She seemed too shocked to say anything. I didn't even know if she was believing a single thing I was saying.

"I-I can talk to him and set him up for that interview you mentioned if you'd... Like..?"


	5. Chapter 5: My Hero

**(Chizuru's POV)**

Who would've thought that someone named Toshinori Yagi would be the key to finally unlocking my dream?

It just had to be a total stranger. A tall yet skinny man who had blonde, disheveled hair with two bangs falling down on the sides of his spiky, angular face.

He suddenly approached me out of nowhere here in the street—on the gloomiest of nights and in the darkest of my moods.

Come to think of it, it would have been scary with just the two of us alone. But for some reason, I wasn't able to feel the slightest ounce of uneasiness and fear around Toshinori the moment he talked to me.

 _I can talk to him and set him up for that interview you mentioned if you'd like?_

Were my ears only deceiving me? If not, then I am absolutely certain right now would be the perfect time to play that imaginary heavenly music in the background—with warm, yellow light illuminating behind Toshinori's back as it causes a soft and radiating glow upon him—all while sparks of golden dust is slowly being poured down on his head and making him look like an ethereal being.

Not to mention that he's coincidentally wearing an All Might costume.

"A-Are you serious?" I gave him a stern look despite my quivering voice that came out.

 _Please say yes, please say yes!_ I fervently prayed in my head. But I was also ready to rage in case he suddenly breaks it as a joke.

"I am.." He softly replied.

I gasped and broke into a broad smile. Without further hesitation, I quickly lunged at him and pulled his skinny figure in for a tight hug. Toshinori seemed taken aback but I couldn't contain my excitement and acted impulsively.

"Oh yes, please! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I was practically squealing as I thanked him over and over again.

Toshinori felt warm and very welcoming as I kept him locked in my arms. An odd feeling suddenly began to take over me. It was almost as if he was giving off the same energy I felt with All Might.

I could hear Toshinori nervously stammering. Upon looking at him, I saw his entire face had turned beet red. But the thing that caught my attention the most were his deep set of eyes. They were blue—like the symbol of peace had himself—only with a slight difference. Toshinori's eyes seemed lighter and had a sense of calmness in them compared to All Might's bold-giving vibe.

I was probably going bonkers, thinking of Toshinori and All Might's similarities like this. My cheeks felt like they were flaming at the sudden thought of it and I ended up pushing Toshinori away with a little force. He ended up stumbling backwards a little.

"Ah! _G-Gomen!_ " I apologized as I tried to get hold of him again.

"Don't worry, I'm okay.." Toshinori reassured me with a grin as he straightened his posture.

"I just... I-I'm really happy..." I muttered.

The cab suddenly honked its horn twice, making both our heads turn to its direction. I held one finger up in front of the driver, signalling and mouthing the words "one sec" to him.

"Er, looks like my ride home is calling me." I said as I turned back to Toshinori.

"Y-Yeah.. But how can I reach you though?" He asked me.

"Wait, I'll give you my number." I quickly pulled on my bag and reached in for a pen and a small notebook. I scrapped a small piece of paper with it and started writing my number in my palm with my squiggly handwriting.

"Here you go. Please inform me about the details. You can text or call me anytime! Just don't lose it, okay?" I handed Toshinori my number and he accepts it with a trembling hand.

"A-Are you sure about this?" Toshinori sounded too shy and innocent that it made me chuckle. He was now acting cute and kind of awkward.

"Of course! How am I supposed to reach you anyway?"

"I guess you're right.." Toshinori timidly agreed while smoothing the back of his neck.

"Yagi-san, I'm really sorry but I have to go now.." I told him.

"Right, right. Er, let me walk you to the cab." Toshinori offered kindly.

 _S-Such a gentleman..._ I thought in my head.

Toshinori also opened the car door for me and I couldn't help but feel flustered. He was just too nice. No guy has ever offered to do such things for me. Yagi-san was the first, and this sure does speak a lot for someone I just met.

"Thanks again.." I mumbled to him once I got inside the car. He flashed one of his ear-wide smiles at me.

"It's nothing. You take care." He told me.

I smiled back at him and nodded. I hope he could see how grateful I actually was that I was able to meet him tonight. Maybe I should buy him something.

He then closed the door but I could still see his figure standing outside the tinted car window; him in his All Might costume that I just noticed was looking way too big for him.

I thought maybe they didn't have anything that would fit his size. He's so thin after all.

Nevertheless, for tonight, he was my hero.

Feeling very light and ecstatic, I waved my hand good bye at Toshinori for the last time as the car began to advance.

 **(Toshinori's POV)**

Even after the cab disappeared from my sight, I was left staring down on the small piece of paper Chizuru gave me.

A girl just gave me her number. Thinking about it makes me feel really shy and nervous.

I suddenly balled my fists, crumpling the paper that was in my palm. _Idiot. That's not what you should be thinking right now._

What I _should_ be thinking is how am I going to get this to work.

I just didn't have the heart to ignore her wish right after opening it up to me. She had such high hopes. Her persistence in doing so might even get herself in danger.

How could I turn the opportunity she wanted so badly when the person she wanted to talk to was standing right beside her?

 _Jeez. Toshinori you're getting soft._

I mean, it's just one interview. Just one. That doesn't sound too bad, right?

• • •

"Where were you? It took you like 15 minutes out there. Did you find anything?" Aizawa asked me right after I entered U.A.'s faculty room. He was sitting next to Yamada (going by his hero name Present Mic) who was fixing his hair.

"I had to take several more looks around. I didn't find anyone or anything suspicious though. I guess it was all in my head." I answered nonchalantly.

"You said you wanted to talk to me about the students of 1-A?" I continued, sitting down on my own table right across from them.

Me and Aizawa proceeded with our short discussion regarding my young Midoriya and young Bakugo's relationship that was obviously not going well.

"They're getting worse. I caught them fighting at the grounds. That loud kid.. Bakugo, was it? Almost blew Midoriya's head off." Aizawa told me while wearing a scowl on his face. His arms were crossed over his chest.

"Luckily, all that ruckus caught my attention and I was able to stop them before one of them gets killed by the other." His brows twitched as he closed his eyes.

"Such a pain in the ass.." He muttered under his breath.

"I wasn't aware of that happening.. I should have been the one to stop them. I'm sorry about the trouble, Aizawa." I sighed and apologized.

"I think that's okay. You don't always have to be the one to put a stop to everything bad going around." Yamada suddenly butted in.

"I'm sure Shota here can handle it. Right?" Yamada added with a grin, nudging Aizawa's shoulder with his elbow. Aizawa just shrugged.

"All I'm saying is that you, All Might, should be the one to talk to those kids. You're a lot more suitable to those stuff than I am." He asserted.

"Aizawa-san, don't worry. I'll talk to those young boys again. Hopefully an incident like that would not arise again." I professed to him.

"If you dislike them fighting so much and being a pain, then why don't you expel them?" Yamada asked him.

"Isn't that what you're known for here in U.A.?"

I suddenly got weary over Yamada's remark. I didn't want any of my students to get expelled. Specifically thinking about how depressing that must be not just for Midoriya, but for everyone else, after working so hard to get into U.A. was a very sad thing for me as well.

Aizawa remained silent. To which I had no idea whether that was good or bad.

"Or is it because you've actually grown to like them? Yeah, I guess that explains why you haven't expelled a single one!" Yamada continued blabbering.

"Tch. You're getting noisy. Anyway, that was all what I wanted to talk about. I'll leave it up to you then." Aizawa was pertaining to me. He then stood up, immediately taking his leave.

"Oi, oi, Shota wait up! Did you forget? It's Friday night!" Yamada quickly followed right after him.

"What about it." Aizawa replied gruffly.

"Friday night is karaoke night! The other teachers and I are going so you should come too!" Yamada exclaimed gleefully.

"I'll pass."

"What!? Come on, don't be a party pooper!" Yamada insisted as he stood in front of Aizawa, blocking his way. Poor guy only got evaded.

"No."

"Man, you stink. What about you, All Might? Wanna join us?" Yamada turned and asked me. I gave him an apologetic smile.

"I think I'll pass as well, Yamada-san. I still have some stuff to do." I told him.

"Boo! You're all too busy. Oh well.. Guess I'll see you both on Monday then! Oi, Shota! I said wait up!" Aizawa was already out the door and was just about to close it when Yamada stopped the motion with his hand.

Watching those two sure made me amused. Despite the appearing contrast in their personality-with Aizawa who's often cold and apathetic, and Yamada who's always so lively-they actually get along pretty well.

The door slid shut and I remained as the only person left in the room. I then uncrumpled the paper Chizuru gave me that I had been hiding in my palm all this time. Luckily, the two men didn't seem to notice.

I pulled out my phone and registered her number in my list of contacts.

 _You can text or call me anytime!_

I could feel my face heating up as Chizuru's words echoed inside my head.

 _She was talking about the interview, not you, shit head._ I was arguing with myself.

"I wonder if she got home already though."

I placed one hand over my head as I began thinking if I should send her a casual text or not. It took me about five minutes to come up with a message-deleting and restarting my words from scratch until I was finally able to settle with one.

 **SMS**

 **"Hey, it's me, Toshinori! I just wanted to know. Have you arrived home yet?"**

 **Send to: 千鶴** **(Chizuru)**

I slumped back on my seat and released a heavy sigh of relief as soon as I hit the send button. My fingers were practically shaking while I was composing my message. A lame fact about the "world's greatest hero" is that he's never texted a girl so casually before.

Minutes passed as I was merely staring down on my phone, waiting if it would light up. More time passed and I was starting to get anxious.

 _Perhaps she's not home yet?_

 _Maybe she ignored me because it wasn't about All Might?_

 _Why am I thinking like this?_

I quickly stood up and my chair made a screeching noise as its legs dragged against the floor panels; echoing inside the room.

I started to pack my things instead so I could go home and make a list of things I should accomplish over the week when my phone suddenly buzzed, and I quickly grabbed it with superhuman speed.

 **SMS**

 _ **1 new message!**_

 **From: 千鶴** **(Chizuru)**


	6. Chapter 6: Because I'm here

**(Toshinori's POV)**

A new message arrived and my face lit up when I saw Chizuru's name pop up on the screen. I could feel my heart pounding as I immediately opened her message.

 **SMS**

 **Reply from: 千鶴** **(Chizuru)**

 **"Yagi-san! Not yet, but I'm almost home. I'm glad you texted me. You're so thoughtful!"**

 _I made her happy._

The thought of it made my lips form a small smile. I quickly typed in a reply.

 **俊典** **(Toshinori): That's good! By the way, I've already talked to All Might. Do you want to know what he said?**

 **千鶴** **(Chizuru): Oh boy, I really hope this is some good news.. What did he say?**

I suddenly stopped as I was staring at the wall, thinking hard.

 _Am I really going to do this? Do I really have to go this far?_

I heaved out a sigh. I thought I was certain that I've made up my mind about it. I was going to help her achieve her dream.

 **俊典** **(Toshinori): He said yes.**

 **(Chizuru's POV)**

I couldn't help but squeal as loud as I could inside the cab, startling the cab driver and making the car slightly swerve on the road. Luckily we weren't in the middle of a high way or else we would have certainly bumped into another car by now.

"What the—Hey! What's gotten into you!?" The driver yelled as he looked at me through his rear view mirror. He sounded really angry.

I quickly covered my mouth as my face flushed red, feeling very ashamed with myself.

"O-Oh I'm really sorry I startled you.. I just.. T-There was a message a-and.. _Gomen!_ " I apologized as I bowed my head furiously.

"Keep it down lady! Or we'll end up crashing by another one of your screams. You almost gave me a heart attack!" The driver told me furiously.

"I'm really sorry..."

I then sank further into my seat, feeling very small and embarrassed. I could still hear the driver's inaudible mumbling in the front seat. It's a good thing that my house was just a few blocks away. I want to get out of here as soon as I can.

 **千鶴** **(Chizuru): I just want to inform you... That text you just sent literally almost got me killed.. (￣▽￣** ***)ゞ**

I sent my message and my phone suddenly lit up just a few seconds later by another quick reply made by Toshinori.

 **俊典** **(Toshinori): WHAT? What happened!? Where are you? Are you alright?**

Toshinori's text made me giggle. He worries too much. I can imagine the troubled face he must be making right now. I told him not to worry as well as everything that just happened and how uncomfortable I was right now, knowing that the driver was fuming mad at me.

 **俊典** **(Toshinori): I have a feeling that All Might is literally gonna be the death of you. Hmm, should I tell him that we're cancelling the interview?**

I frowned and spammed Toshinori with loads of this sad kaomoji: (╯︵╰,)

 **俊典** **(Toshinori): Hey I'm joking, I'm joking..**

"Hey we're here." The driver told me with a rough voice. I hid my phone for a while and took my purse out of my bag.

" _H-Hai._ Um, here.. I'm really sorry about all that trouble. Please keep the change.." I fished out a bunch of bills in my purse and handed them to the driver. I then grabbed my bag and got out of the cab as fast as I could and headed straight to my house. I sighed with relief as soon as I found myself standing at the door step and the scary driver was gone.

Grabbing my keys inside my purse, I unlocked the door and left my shoes on the side upon entering as I didn't want the floor to get all soiled up. I currently had the house to myself as both of my parents were living in a separate house and my older sister, my only sibling, was working overseas.

I walked straight to my room with the poster I had of All Might instantly greeting me, showing his wide grin and my favorite quote "PLUS ULTRA" written in artsy bold letters below him.

I also had mini figures of All Might—or _small might_ , I must say—neatly aligned on my end table on the side of the room. I started collecting them in different shops because they were very cute.

I was in the middle of changing out of my grubby work clothes when my stomach suddenly released a low, grumbling sound.

I shrugged. _That's right. Dinner. I completely forgot._

I was too caught up about All Might that I forgot to eat. Maybe Toshinori was right. Maybe All Might _will_ be the death of me.

I decided to go with just a quick soba noodle recipe and began preparing the ingredients in the kitchen.

While waiting for the water to boil, I suddenly remembered how I wasn't able to give Toshinori a reply back. I went to my room to retrieve my phone, seeing that he left me a new message ten minutes ago.

 **俊典** **(Toshinori): Are you mad? I'm really sorry about that joke I made..**

I smiled. He just seems so soft and innocent.

 **千鶴** **(Chizuru): I'm sorry.. I got a little busy as soon as I got home. And no, I'm not mad at you. Stop stressing yourself out. :p**

I went back to the kitchen a few minutes later to get back on the dinner I was cooking. It didn't take long for it to get done. Soba noodles were always my go-to food whenever I wasn't in the mood to make something that's time-consuming.

I poured myself a bowl of hot steaming noodles from the pot and began to eat.

My mind started to wander off while I was chewing. I wanted to know about Toshinori and All Might's relationship. He mentioned a while ago that they were close. He even said that he works at U.A. Academy as well.

I wondered what kind of position he has. Was he also a teacher? There sure were a lot of things I wanted to know about.

Maybe I should ask Toshinori if he can hang out with me this weekend. That way I can get to know him better and we could talk about the details of the interview.

I decided to text him about it.

 **SMS**

 **"By the way, Yagi-san.. Do you have anything to do over the weekend?"**

 **Send to: 俊典** **(Toshinori)**

By the time I was done eating and doing all the dishes, it was already half past 9 pm. I was surprised by how much time already passed. I was ready to go to bed with it being an exhausting day when Toshinori finally replied.

 **俊典** **(Toshinori): Sorry, I was on my way home. Yes, I've got some stuff to do for my work. Why?**

He seemed pretty busy. Oh well, he does work at Japan's top hero academy. I can only imagine what kind of insane routine they do there.

 **千鶴** **(Chizuru): I see.. I was planning on inviting you for a hang out this weekend and talk about some things. It's okay though, maybe next time!**

I was starting to get sleepy. I let my body collapse on the bed, letting out a long yawn and getting teary-eyed with the feeling like my eyes were stinging.

 **俊典** **(Toshinori): Oh they're just some minor stuff, no big deal. When and where do you wanna meet?**

 **千鶴** **(Chizuru): I'm pretty free by tomorrow if you're up for some lunch. But are you sure? I understand if you're busy..**

 **俊典** **(Toshinori): It's not a bother. I'll meet you tomorrow then.**

I found myself smiling while I was reading Toshinori's reply with half-shut eyes.

 **千鶴** **(Chizuru): You're too nice.. But okay, I'll see you tomorrow! Good night Yagi-san!**

 **俊典** **(Toshinori): Good night. Sleep tight! :)**

 **(Toshinori's POV)**

I dropped my phone on my bed with my heart still pounding. I haven't had a conversation with a girl this long before. And I was meeting her again tomorrow for lunch.

 _I have to prepare for all the questions she might ask about me and All Might. God I hope this would work._

I sat on a table and got a piece of paper out on one of my drawers as I began thinking of a lesson plan and more training activities to prep up my students for next week. I also create scripts for each lesson for me to be able to explain it well since I'm not exactly an expert in the field of teaching. I still have a lot of things to do to improve myself.

It took me two hours to plan everything out. After that, I went straight to bed feeling both worried and excited as I think of what tomorrow could possibly have in store for me.

• • •

heard a familiar voice calling out from behind me. I turned around and saw Chizuru waving her hand and running towards me with such a charming smile on her face.

She was wearing a simple, knee-length peach dress paired with white sandals and a silver shining bracelet clipped on her wrist. Even her hair seemed to be swaying gracefully by the wind.

She looked even prettier than the last I've seen her. Yet more than anything, it was her hazel eyes that gave her away—shining like polished stone as the sun's rays gleamed on her face.

My face felt like they were burning, along with my heart that was pounding furiously the nearer she got to me.

"I hope I didn't make you wait that long.." Chizuru told me with a worried look. I didn't even realize that she was in front of me already.

I had to take a gulp first before I could get a word out because I was having this feeling that something was stuck in my throat.

"N-No you didn't.." I replied without making eye contact. I was too shy to look at her directly for too long.

"I'm glad! Well then, should we go?" She cheerfully asked me. I nodded my head in response.

" _H-Hai.._ "

I texted her this morning about where our meeting place would be. We weren't able to discuss it overnight because she fell asleep pretty fast.

Chizuru had to ask me where I lived, saying that she wanted to pick a place that was both convenient for us. Nervous of the risk it might impose for giving my real address, I gave her a different one that was about four blocks away from where I really lived. She then gave me her real address in return and we decided on a landmark we were both familiar with.

Normally, it was a 40 minute drive from my real house to hers. But thankfully, I realized that I could take the nearby train station instead and the travel time would be cut to nearly 15-20 minutes.

And now here I was, walking side by side with her while searching for a place we could eat. It felt so wrong to think of this as a date, even though this was what my mind has been thinking since last night.

She was my friend that I was merely helping out. Nothing more.

• • •

"I'll be the one to pay for it." I told Chizuru as we were standing in line at the counter to pay for our food which were two bowls of katsudon.

"No, let me pay. I was the one who invited you out anyway.." She protested.

In the end, we decided to split the price in half as none of us wanted the other to pay in full.

We found our table and sat across from each other. I decided to engage in a conversation with her immediately. Sooner or later these questions would pop up anyway.

"S-So.. Are you excited? About that interview?" I asked her.

"You bet I am! I haven't even told anyone from work yet.. I wanted to surprise them in person. They'll be so happy when they hear that I'll be able to talk to the number one hero!" Chizuru was practically blushing as she was talking. I noticed her eyes always seemed to shine as well whenever she's talking about something she likes.

"Ah I'm so jealous of you! Both of you must be really close since you got him to say yes immediately! Yagi-san, what exactly did you tell him?" She eagerly asked me.

 _Shit. Here come the questions. Just relax, Toshinori. You've prepared for this._

"Well he's.. We've known each other for quite a long time now since we were classmates back at U.A." I told her with a nervous grin.

 _Damn it. I'm so sorry about lying, Chizuru.._

"Wow! You studied at U.A. too?! Yagi-san you're amazing!" She exclaimed. I blushed at her reaction.

" _I-iya.._ not really.. A-Anyway about All Might.." I cleared my throat.

"He asked me if it was okay with you to do the interview next week? Possibly on weekends when he's free? Hopefully he won't be facing any villains then.." _I really hope that that would be the case._ I thought to myself.

"Yes! Tell him it's perfectly fine!" Chizuru's expression was totally beaming right now.

I was surprised when Chizuru suddenly took hold of both of my hands.

"Oh I'm so grateful! I can't believe it! Thank you so much Yagi-san!" She squealed as she started shaking my hands furiously. My arms felt like thin paper as they bobbed up and down.

"A-Ah... It's n-n-nothing..!" _She was holding my hand!_ My heart was pounding so fast as if it was about to explode any minute. I also felt extremely hot like I was being baked inside an oven, with sweat raining down on my face like crazy.

Chizuru finally stopped shaking me, leaving me red and dumbfounded as I tried to sink into my head what just happened.

"Yagi-san! I really want to get to know you better!" She let go of my hands and placed her chin on both of her palms for support, looking at me with astonishment.

"Like what your job is, or your favorite color.. Oh—your quirk! Yagi-san, I want to know what your quirk is! I have a feeling that it's a very cool one!"

"M-My quirk? O-Oh well..." I was running my hands through my hair while I was already panicking inside my head. I thought I came prepared but I didn't know what to answer

 _Should I tell her that I have overwhelming strength? How about near invulnerability? No.. That doesn't sound too convincing with my current form. She'll only laugh at me!_

 _How about fire and ice?_

 _Electricity?_

 _Anti-gravity?_

 _Shooting acid?_

 _Shit! What should I tell her!?_

"Actually... M-My quirk is—"

 **BOOM!**

I got cut off when everyone got startled from the sound of an extremely loud explosion that sounded like it came from a short distance.

"What was that!?"

People started to scream and shriek with fear and panic, running away in wild directions. The whole place had turned into a riot in an instant. I quickly grabbed Chizuru's wrist to lead us both outside so I could also check what was happening.

"Yagi-san! From there!" Chizuru yelled as she was pointing up at the sky. From the direction of her finger, about a few meters away, smashed glass and other dangerous debris were continuously falling down as more and more buildings were being blown up from above.

 _"Somebody! Please make this stop!"_

 _"Where are the heroes!? Please save us!"_

Everyone's uproar of panic and desperate cries for help suddenly put me in a very foul mood. _What in the world is happening?_

My eyes were furiously scanning the area as I tried to figure out where or who was setting off these explosions when I noticed someone flying in mid air, discharging huge rockets from his tank-like arms and blowing up more buildings.

"THAT'S RIGHT! KEEP RUNNING YOU FOOLS! DON'T EVEN BOTHER GETTING IN MY WAY 'CAUSE I'LL BE BURNING THIS WHOLE PLACE DOWN TO THE GROUND IN AN INSTANT!"

The villain shouted from above, laughing maniacally and setting off his explosions non-stop.

"Chizuru-san! I need you to wait right here.. I'm gonna call for help! Please don't go anywhere dangerous! I'll be back in a short while!" I instructed her after bringing her to the side where she'd be a lot safer and people wouldn't crash into her.

"What!? No! It's too dangerous to leave! I'm sure the heroes will be here any minute! We just have to wait until they get here! Hey—where are you going!? Yagi-san!" Chizuru tried to stop me but I was already running away. I could still hear her calling my name—her voice getting more and more distant the farther I ran. She sounded very afraid.

Swerving my head left and right, I was trying to find some place I could sneak into; getting more and more frustrated with each passing second until I finally spotted a narrow alleyway. I went inside the tight space, still running to reach the far end of the alley.

Once I was certain that I was far away and nobody would see me, I concentrated on raging the embers of One For All still left inside of me and transformed into All Might in a puff of steaming smoke. I was feeling very angry with myself for leaving Chizuru alone. But I had no choice.

 _I'm very sorry.. But please hold on. Everything will be fine soon._

I crouched down low and balled my fists tightly to my side.

 _Why?_

And with immense power and speed that was burning on every inch of my body, I charged myself up in the air, cracking the pavement with the force of my foot and summoning a strong gust of wind as I left the area.

 _Because I'm here.  
_

* * *

 **Author's Notes**

 _Hi everyone! First of all, it really means a lot to me that you've been reading my story.. Thank you so much and I hope you've been enjoying it so far!_

 _I just wanted to inform my dear readers that school will start again for me in 3 days. D:_

 _I'll probably be busy with the academic stuff I have to face again.. But please don't worry! I will still make updates although it might take up to a week or two for me to be able to post new chapters rather than my usual 2-3 day basis._ _Please bear with me for a while and I hope you'd continue to tune in to my story._

 _Thanks again for your time and support! Have a wonderful day!_


	7. Chapter 7: A sudden encounter!

**(Chizuru's POV)**

Toshinori left and ran away just a few seconds ago, telling me that he was going to call for help. He looked like he was such in a hurry too. He must have been panicking.

I tried to stop him for I'm sure the heroes will arrive any minute to take care of the situation.

Or at the very least, we could go and get help together. That way at least we wouldn't get seperated. At times like these, it's better to stick with the people you're with. At least you know you're both currently alright.

But he ran ahead without me. I remember the stern look on his eyes that was clearly saying that I should stay right here, just like he said. That only got me even more worried as I have no idea about his whereabouts now.

 _Oh please I really hope he's okay..._ I was silently praying in my head.

The ground shook a little as one of the buildings rumbled down with rubble and other debris flying everywhere. I had to grab hold of a lamp post to keep myself steady.

" _Oka-san_!"

Alerted by that sudden shrill sound, I frantically turned my head from where that cry was coming from.

I suddenly noticed a little boy who was sobbing and standing all alone amidst the crowd of chaotic people. No one was paying attention to him. He was just carelessly getting bumped at as their minds were all in a state of panic.

Without further hesitation, I immediately ran to the helpless kid.

"Little boy! Come here!" I yelled as I was trying to reach him.

" _Oka-san_!" He continued to cry out loud. He seemed to be frozen in place, just constantly shaking with fear.

"Shh come here, it's okay.. You're safe now.." I told the little boy once I was able to reach him. I pulled him in to me, hugging him tightly and smoothing the top of his head.

"Where's your mommy? Don't worry, we'll surely find her.." I muttered softly to the little boy in hopes of calming him down. He then pointed his finger up above, looking at me as tears streamed down on his big, terrified eyes.

" _O...Oka-s-san_..." He muttered to me in between sobs.

"What? You mean your mother's there? But that's..."

My eyes went wide when I realized that the little boy was pointing at the collapsing building that was a few meters away. That area was where all the explosions were coming from.

 _No..._

Now he was tugging at the end of my shirt as he advanced forward, telling me to come with him.

"But it's... It's too dangerous to go there!" I told him. With such sad eyes, he looked at me with his lips quivering from crying. The little boy suddenly escaped from my grip and ran away.

"Ah-no! Come back!" I shouted desperately. I quickly ran right after him but he forced himself in the crowd of people, making me lose sight of him. I gritted my teeth with frustration.

"Little boy! Come back, please!" I yelled as loud as I could in competition with the crowd's drowning noise.

I was pushing and bumping against people as I anxiously searched for him everywhere.

Where? Where is he? Please, let me see him!

" _Oka-san_!"

My ears suddenly picked up the sound of his voice. I was glad. Although I haven't spotted the little boy yet, I knew he was just near based on where the sound came from.

"Little boy! Where are you!?"

 _There! I see him!_

I finally spotted him running straight ahead. The entire place was rumbling as huge debris were continuously falling down on the ground. I ran faster while extending out my arm as I tried to reach for him.

"Hyousuke! N-No! Don't come near me!"

My heart pounded loudly and I suddenly stopped moving. My eyes went wide with horror as I saw a woman lying on the ground with a huge block of concrete being pressed against her back. She was struggling to move with her arms but she was trapped.

I suddenly realized that the trapped woman was the little boy's mother. He was running to her while she was crying, desperately yelling at her son not to come near her as he might get himself in danger.

I clenched my fists so tightly that it hurt. He was trying to get help but no one was paying attention to him. He was too young to know other words as well. He could only mumble the word "mother" but knowing full well that she needed help.

I felt so stupid. I tried to hold him back and refused to go with him when this was happening all along.

I couldn't afford to standby and watch any longer. I knew I didn't have that much of an amazing quirk like All Might's. I also didn't have the strength to move the rubble and save his mother. But I knew the least I could do to help her was to take her kid somewhere safe.

I ran as fast I could until I was finally able to reach the little boy. I grabbed his arm and he finally stopped by surprise.

"Oh miss! Please take him with you! Never mind me! Just take him somewhere safe! Please... I beg of you!" Her mother told me. She was still crying but she was now wearing a smile on her face as if she wasn't feeling any pain at all.

"Be a good boy now, Hyousuke! I know that you're a brave little man! _Oka-san_ loves you very much! Now please... Go! It's too dangerous to stay here!" She continued.

" _Oka-san_!" Hyousuke was bawling and thrashing his arms wildly as he tried to reach out to his mother. Knowing that I couldn't do anything about her situation pained my heart. But I knew that there was still a way of helping. I hoisted Hyousuke up and carried him with me as I ran away.

"Thank you, thank you so much! Please don't let anything happen to him!" I could hear his mother crying from behind.

 _I won't! I promise!_ I answered in my head as tears also started streaming down my face. I didn't even know where I was headed. I just kept on running, hoping to find us a safe shelter.

 _"Oh! The heroes have arrived!"_ _"Finally!"_ _"We're saved!"_

People were suddenly shouting and applauding from a distance. I looked up and saw two heroes arriving at the scene—swinging from his tree-like arms that could thicken and extend from miles and miles away, while the other one was a tall and muscular man that looked very tough as he was catching up fast from behind. I immediately recognized them as heroes Kamui Woods and Death Arms.

"HAH? AS IF THEY CAN STOP ME! DON'T GET IN MY WAY YOU PESTS!" The villain yelled from above as he loaded his arms and fired multiple rockets at once to the direction of the approaching heroes.

They were quickly able to surround themselves with Kamui's wood quirk, using it as a shield but still sustaining damage as some of the rockets were still able to pierce through and cause an explosion.

"Tch! This guy sure is a pain.. Death Arms! Make sure that there aren't any civilians close enough in the area first! I'll go and bind this guy!" Kamui instructed as he plunged forward and began to engage with full attacks.

"Roger that!"

"BIND ME, YOU SAY? QUIT MAKING ME LAUGH YOU GODDAMN HERO!"

There was too much motion going on from above that my eyes couldn't keep up with anymore. Down on the ground, I saw Death Arms fast approaching as he noticed Hyousuke's mother that was being trapped beneath a heavy block of concrete.

"Miss, please hang on! I'll get this block out of here! The emergency team are on their way as well!" Death Arms reassured her as he bumped his huge fists together and began lifting up the huge block easily by using his incredible superhuman strength.

"FOOL! YOU'RE NOT SAVING ANYONE HERE!" The villain was able to escape Kamui's attacks as he was also incredibly agile. He turned his back and dropped down on the ground, aiming at Death Arms and Hyousuke's mother with a wide and sinister smile.

"Shit! Death Arms, watch out!" Kamui yelled and warned his comrade.

With no time to spare, Death Arms' eyes went wide as he quickly stepped in front of Hyousuke's mother that was left immobile from the fallen debris, defending her from the launched rocket as it detonated straight to him.

With the thick and dark smoke starting to clear away, Death Arms was seen to be wincing in pain, being greatly injured from facing the attack as blood began dripping from his body. The villain's roaring laughter erupted through the area.

"HAHAHA! HOW PATHETIC! THAT'S WHAT YOU STUPID HEROES GET FOR TRYING TO SAVE EVERYONE!"

" _Oka-san_!"

The villain suddenly snapped his head to our direction and his eyes instantly met with mine. He glared at me and slowly smiled, making me shiver and sending chills down my spine. His glare was so cold that I suddenly couldn't move. I gripped Hyousuke's back tightly.

"HMM? IT SEEMS LIKE WE HAVE ANOTHER ONE HERE!"

 _Move, dammit! Why can't you move!?_ I shouted to myself inside my head. My heart was pounding with so much fear.

"THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN OVER REAL QUICK IF NONE OF YOU TRIED TO GET IN MY WAY! I GUESS I'LL JUST HAVE TO FORCEFULLY BLOW YOU AWAY THEN!"

"Leave them alone!" Kamui yelled as he surged his long arm forward, trying to restrain the villain with his wood quirk. Death Arms also charged forward but his speed was a lot slower now because of his condition. He swung his fist at the villain but he was able to evade it, giving Death Arms a punch back.

The villain then sent himself flying by aiming his own rocket down on the ground, sending another explosion at Kamui. He had such fast reflexes that the two heroes were having a hard time catching him.

I finally got out of my paralyzed state and started to run. I couldn't even feel my legs running as my body just seemed to be moving on its own. I could also feel the villain's eyes still glaring at me from behind as I ran away.

"YOU CAN'T RUN AWAY FROM ME!" The villain yelled angrily as I heard his blaster that was quickly recharging energy.

"No!" Death Arms shouted furiously. I turned around only to see the rocket blasting out of his arm and rapidly zooming in our direction. Any second now and it would hit us. I closed my eyes with fear of what's about to happen and wrapped Hyousuke tighter, protecting him in my arms.

"TEXAS SMAAAAAASH!"

I heard something clink against a metal object that was quickly followed by a strong blast of wind that spread through the area. Someone suddenly came and stopped the rocket just in time from blowing us into pieces. I slowly opened my eyes and couldn't believe what I was seeing.

All Might suddenly came into the scene as he punched the rocket by his mere fist, sending it flying away and exploding in another direction instead. I was so shocked. _He was able to blow away that rocket despite its speed?_

He was standing so close to me that I could see the veins on his muscular arm that was extended out right in front of my eyes. His prescence and burning energy was so strong.

"Are you hurt?" All Might suddenly asked me. I blinked. It took me a second to realize that he was talking to me.

"I-I'm... I'm..." I couldn't even get a word out. His prescence was too mesmerizing. All Might gave me another one of his wide smiles that made my heart skip a beat.

 _Does he recognize me?_

"I see you have a kid with you. Please leave this area and go somewhere safe. Don't worry, I will protect you." His words were enough to melt my heart. But this wasn't the time to fangirl. I firmly nodded my head and ran away as fast as I could.

"GAH! WHY DOES EVERYONE KEEP GETTING IN MY WAY!?" The villain's voice had become even more frustrated.

"Now... Let's get this over with real quick." All Might said with a confident grin that gained applauses and cheers from the people.

"AS IF I'D LET YOU! I'LL SEND ALL OF YOU STRAIGHT TO HELL!"

More rockets were immediately fired at once but All Might was insanely faster than any of them. The villain couldn't keep up with his speed. He was evading all of them so easily.

"Oi, villain! Do you want to know what your own power tastes like?" All Might suddenly asked him. And with just his hand, All Might was fully able to stop one of the villain's rockets that had been launched at him. It had everyone completely astonished.

This man was clearly beyond insane.

"WHAT!? HOW DID YOU..." The villain's eyes went wide with shock and he gritted his teeth, obviously showing his frustration.

"Here, have a taste of it! Actually... How 'bout we double it!"

Running slowly at first and eventually gaining his pace, All Might fully stretched back his arm that was holding the rocket with his free hand and threw the rocket back at the villain with intense power and speed that the naked eye wouldn't be able to see.

The villain was seen getting blasted away from a great distance by All Might's incredible power as his body crashed from building to building.

"Now! Restrain him!" All Might ordered.

Kamui Woods quickly followed right after the blown away villain. He now appeared to be unconscious as his body got wedged deep in the crater that was formed on one of the buildings he crashed into.

Kamui took the villain away; spiraling his wood quirk on the villain's body as it tightened around him in case he tried to escape. But from the looks of it, All Might seemed to have knocked him dead.

Everyone started to clap their hands while the others cheered and chanted All Might's name.

 _As expected of the number one hero..._

I finally thought it safe to get out of the abandoned store I was hiding into. The emergency team arrived just in time as well. They ran straight to Hyousuke's mother as they carefully hoisted her up to the stretcher. I quickly ran to her while still clutching Hyousuke in my arms.

Luckily, the boy's mother was still conscious. She suddenly smiled as her eyes welled up with tears the moment she saw her son approaching.

"Oh... Hyousuke... I'm so glad..."

I finally let Hyousuke reunite with his mother as they started to wheel away her stretcher inside the ambulance. All Might and the rest of the heroes was also there, watching the scene.

"You were all such brave heroes.. Me and my son.. We owe our lives and are forever indebted to you. I can't thank you all enough..." She sobbed. I was suddenly touched at her statement. _She thought of me as a hero, too._

"Please don't think about that. It's our solemn duty to protect and help those who are in need. You should just focus on getting some rest, ma'am." All Might told her. He was standing right beside me while I was just there, stiff and steady as a rock as I was still stunned by his presence.

Until he started talking to me.

"I think I recognize you from somewhere." All Might suddenly turned to me and said. _The number one hero was talking to me!_

Blood immediately rushed to my face as I faced him, trying to get a full word out. But my subconscious devil was whispering other distracting things inside my head.

 _All Might's tall and bulk figure..._

 _His pecs..._

 _His perfectly smooth and tan skin..._

 _Dammit, even his manly scent that smells exactly like hopes and dreams!_

"I-I.. Um.. A-Actually... Back at U.A. Academy..." I mumbled shyly.

"Ah yeah. You were the one who photographed me while riding on someone's back." All Might laughed heartily. Hearing his laugh right then and there just gives my life joy and meaning.

"You should show it to me sometime. It's not fair if I won't be able to see it." He continued.

 _Am I seriously having a conversation with the world's greatest hero right now?_

" _A-Ano..._ You see.. Your f-friend.. His name is Toshinori Yagi. Actually, I know him and I'm also friends with him and um.. I think he already mentioned to you that someone wanted to interview you." My heart was pounding like crazy as I talked to him.

 _Even if he's the number one hero, I'm not supposed to stutter like this. I'm going to interview him in a week for god's sake._

"That must be you, isn't it?" All Might asked me.

"Ah— _H-Hai!_ " I answered a little too loudly.

"Well then that makes me very glad." He replied with a sweet smile on his face. I blushed and suddenly thought of Toshinori's first warm smile that he gave me last night when we met.

 _Gah! Why on earth do I keep switching these two men up?_

 _And where is Toshinori anyway?_ I was still very worried about him. I decided to give him a call.

"U-Um.. All Might.. If you please excuse me. I'd just like to call Yagi-san right now. He left to call for help a while ago and I still haven't heard of him. I really hope he's safe.." I kindly told All Might as I grabbed my phone from my pocket and scrolled through my list to dial Toshinori's number.

"A-Ahh! W-Wait a minute-"

 ** _DENWA GA KITAAA! DENWA GA KITAAA!_**

All Might's phone suddenly lit up from his pocket surprisingly at the same time that I dialed Toshinori's number. His ringtone seemed to be his own recorded voice. An embarrassed smile suddenly formed on All Might's face. I quickly covered my mouth as I couldn't help but snort. _What a silly ringtone!_

"Oh! Ehe... W-Would you look at that! Someone's trying to give me a call too! Er, t-this must be one of my co-teachers back at U.A.! If you excuse me, I'll just take this call a-and... See you later!" All Might suddenly zoomed out of the area with his superhuman speed, leaving me shocked. That call must have been really urgent.

I suddenly got more weary as Toshinori still wasn't picking up. I dialed his number for the second time and after a few rings, he finally picked up.

"Yagi-san! I'm so glad you picked up! Where are you? Are you okay?" I asked him full of worry.

"Y-Yes... I'm... Fine..." He answered. He sounded like he was panting.

"You sound like you're out of breath. What's wrong? Were you running just a moment ago?"

"Ah—well.. This is because I got exhausted from running when I tried to call for help! What about you, are you okay? You're not hurt, are you? He replied and asked me. Now he sounded normal again.

"I'm okay, no need to worry! Yagi-san, where are you? Let's meet up. I also have a lot of things to tell you!" I suddenly squealed with delight.

"You sound very excited. Sure, I'll meet you back at the place where we ate lunch together. I don't think we were finished either." Toshinori chuckled lightly.

"Okay, I'm on my way!" I answered joyfully. I then ended the call and headed back to the shop that Toshinori and I were hanging out on before everything got into a mess.

I bet he's going to be really surprised by my crazy stories today!


	8. Chapter 8: Go beyond, Plus Ultra!

**(Chizuru's POV)**

I told Toshinori everything after reuniting with him again. I even told him about the cowardliness I portrayed when I refused to let the little boy bring me to where his mother was. I couldn't believe how selfish I was that I actually felt disgusted with myself.

"You know.. It's okay to get scared sometimes" He suddenly told me.

"Fear is an emotion we sometimes cannot control. It's part of human nature. But you can also fight it back and overcome it."

I lifted my head up and studied Toshinori's face. He was looking straight ahead with his eyes looking more vibrant and alive as he spoke. The sudden change in his aura surprised me a little.

"Just like what you did when you protected that kid. You put aside your fear. And honestly, I'm not only saying this to make you feel better but.. You were a hero." He then glanced at me as he finished, hitting me with another one his soft smiles.

My automatic reaction was to blush. He's got such a good heart.

After that, we began to move someplace else as the police were starting to make people leave while they fix and observe all the mess left by the incident.

We were just walking when Toshinori suddenly stopped and started coughing.

"Yagi-san, are you okay? Your coughing sounds really bad—"

My eyes widened with horror when I saw Toshinori's fist that he had used to cover his mouth had spits of blood.

 **(Toshinori's POV)**

"Blood! Yagi-san what's wrong?" Chizuru asked me looking very worried.

"Nothing! I'm fine, really.. T-This is normal!" I quickly explained.

"Normal!?" She yelled.

"You're coughing blood and you think that's normal!?"

 _Shit. If this ain't some bad timing..._

Ever since I passed on the power of One For All to young Midoriya, it was getting harder and harder to transform into All Might as I could feel my own power weakening every time. And with my condition... Though I hated to admit it, it's true that things aren't going well for me.

"I thought you said you were fine! We should get you to the hospital right now!" Chizuru told me anxiously.

"No, there's no need!"

"What..?" She gave me a puzzled look. I swear she was looking at me like she wanted to hit me on the head.

"I'm fine... I told you that this is normal. So please trust me." I pleaded to her.

"But I—"

"Trust me." I repeated with a smile on my face. Chizuru was looking at me intently as she tightly pressed her lips together.

"You're unbelievable." She shook her head upon answering and heaved out a huge sigh afterwards.

"Give me your hand." She suddenly ordered.

I watched as Chizuru took a small hanky out of her pocket. She suddenly grabbed my wrist and used her hanky to dab on the blood that was on my hand. I was surprised. She was so nice to me.

"At least wipe this off." Chizuru frowned and muttered under her breath.

"You're... Not mad, are you?" I suddenly asked her. She shrugged.

"I'm worried about you, Yagi-san. But you're so persistent and you told me to trust you so I did. Because I do trust you." She sounded annoyed while saying this.

"I'm sorry.. I know you're upset. But I assure you that it's nothing to worry about." I gently told her. She glanced back at me with an unconvinced look.

"But.. If I see you coughing blood again then there'll be no excuses." Chizuru answered coldly as she turned away from me. I remained silent.

I understand that she was only concerned about me. I also didn't like making her worry, but I obviously can't hold back my coughing all the time. It was the side effect of the grave injury I got years ago.

Hiding everything from her was harder than I thought.

"I guess we should just go home then so you could go and rest." Chizuru said.

"I-I don't want to go home yet." I argued. After hearing myself, I suddenly felt embarrassed. I sounded like a child.

Chizuru glanced back at me in surprise. She then closed her eyes and shook her head—a small, lopsided smirk forming on her lips.

"There you go again... But no. This time, you'll listen to me." She opened her eyes and told me firmly.

I wanted to tell her right then that I wanted to spend more time with her. Seeing Chizuru's bubbly personality and how nice she was drew me closer to her. But of course, I was too shy to say it so I had no choice but to go along with what she wanted.

"Alright then.." I softly spoke in surrender.

"But I promise I'll make it up to you again. I know we haven't fully enjoyed the day yet because of what happened. _Hountoni gomen._." Chizuru apologized to me while looking down in a sad manner.

"Don't worry about it. Though it was quite short, I still enjoyed my time with you." I told her.

"L-Liar.." Chizuru rebutted as she looked away from me. She seemed to blush at my remark.

"No, really, I mean it. I hope we could have hung out a bit longer." I added.

"You're just trying to make me smile. That won't work. I'm still annoyed at you." She narrowed her eyes at me.

"Heh, no you're not. Not anymore." I replied with a grin as I reached out to her and gave her a gentle pat on the head. Her hair felt incredibly smooth and soft to touch.

Chizuru didn't seem to wince nor complain about it. In fact, the scowl on her face seemed to vanish.

"W-Whatever.. Let's just get going." She mumbled a few seconds later.

I could see it in her face that she was trying to suppress her smile as she turned away from me and resumed walking. She seemed to be speeding up, too; leaving me behind on purpose.

 _She's as shy as ever._ I ended up smiling by myself.

"Hey, wait up!" I yelled as I quickly chased after her.

• • •

I checked the time on my phone. Young Midoriya's training starts at 5 pm by the beach where we usually meet up. Based on my clock, I still had an hour left before 5.

Looking for things to do back at home, I suddenly grabbed the task list I made and ran through it. I then realized that it was missing something. I wasn't able to write it down last night since I still wasn't certain of the details.

 **Saturday**

 **□ Go to Chizuru's work establishment for the interview / 9 am**

Before we parted, Chizuru and I discussed on the way where the location of the interview would be held as well as the time.

"Is Saturday good for him? And whatever time he's comfortable with, really. I know he's busy so I don't want to get in his way." Chizuru told me as the scene flashed in my head.

"Oh he'll be fine with it, I'm sure. What time exactly?" I answered.

"Hmm, probably 9 am? And if I may ask, please give this address to him.. It's our office. It's where the interview would be held." Chizuru handed me a small card with the location of their office written in it. I simply nodded my head.

"Thank you so much!" She suddenly screamed and squeezed me into a hug. I instantly blushed and almost coughed up blood again from the shock. I was trying so hard to hold it in that it itched and hurt my chest.

I suddenly snorted at the thought. It was a really tough situation. I'd certainly choose the option of fighting with villains at any day rather than endure that.

I then put my pen down after scribbling the additional task and slumped back on my wooden chair-staring up at the ceiling while contemplating things in my head.

 _I wonder. Should I tell Midoriya about this?_

 _What will he think of it?_

I guess there's no need to involve him. He wouldn't benefit from it. These are personal problems that I just caused myself.

Still, I felt like I needed to tell him though. That kid is currently the closest to family that I've got. Perhaps I just needed someone who would understand.

I didn't even know why I was so stressed out. It's just one interview after all.

 _And then what? Will Chizuru and I continue seeing each other once she's finally achieved her goal?_

I probably didn't have that much of a use to her anymore once that's over. I didn't even intend to be friends with her. All I had in mind was to help her reach All Might.

I dreadfully ran a hand over my face. _That sounded rude. I can't believe what I had been thinking just now._

Chizuru was a really sweet and kind girl. It was an odd feeling, but the jolliness I feel when I was with her was distinct from everyone else. Although she didn't know the truth about me, she belonged to the few people that easily accepted me.

That's why every time I lie and try to hide the truth, I feel like I'm playing with her, which she clearly doesn't deserve.

I suddenly thought of the possibility if she didn't meet me in this state, but rather in my other figure that she adores so much. Things would have been so much different.

Perhaps I'd be more confident and I wouldn't always have to run away first every time I try to protect her. I know I could never be brave or act tough with what I am now. I sighed and shook my head.

Because the real Toshinori Yagi can never be a hero.

• • •

"He really is the best hero! I'm telling you! It's completely different when you see him close in person!" I exclaimed over the phone with Ryoka in the other end of the line.

I know I said I'd wait to tell them in person. But things were just too good that I just couldn't help it. My hands were itching to call Ryoka right away.

"I'm having such a hard time believing the things you're telling me.." She replied.

"But oh my god, Chizuru when did you get so lucky!?" Ryoka added and shrieked afterwards. My face turned sour as I quickly pulled the phone away from my ear. God that hurt, but I grinned either way.

I was happy that Ryoka was exploding with excitement just as I am.

"I mean... Gee. You literally almost got killed for him to appear right in front of you. I'd rather wait long hours for him than face something like that. I'm really glad you're safe too, Chizuru!" She continued.

"Yeah.. But everything's all thanks to Yagi-san, really! If I didn't meet him last night then all this would never have happened." I answered cheerfully.

"Then I guess you owe him _big time._ "

I giggled. "I really do. Can you help me pick a gift for him though?"

"Sure thing! You should get All Might something too!"

I began to think. Well.. What _doesn't_ the number one hero have at this point that I could give him?

Even so with Toshinori. I don't really know what kind of stuff he likes.

"That's actually a hard one.. I have no idea what to give them." I answered.

"I'll help you think about it. We'll come up with the perfect gift for the two of them!" Ryoka chirped excitedly.

"Thanks, Ryoka." I said and smiled.

"But don't you think it's weird though?"

"Hmm? What is?"

"You said you met that Toshinori guy wearing an All Might costume. You don't think he was able to borrow it from All Might himself since he says they're really close, do you?" Ryoka asked. She sounded so serious that I couldn't help but laugh.

"I think that would be really weird."

"Hey I just got curious, that's all. But you're probably right. I mean.. The size on him would be totally different if he wore it. Unless he's got the same body type as All Might." Ryoka explained and chuckled right after.

"No, he doesn't. He's actually—" I cut off my words as a new thought suddenly entered my head.

"He's actually what?" Ryoka asked me.

I didn't really mention to Ryoka that Toshinori's costume looked way too big for him. Maybe he did borrow it?

It seemed really weird though to lend someone your own personal hero costume. But if that was the case then I guess it's no longer my business.

"N-Nothing. It's just really weird." I snorted.

"Well you should definitely tell me more. Is it okay if I meet you tomorrow? Then we can also go shopping for gifts!" Ryoka squealed with delight.

My lips formed a small smile. "Yeah sure. Tomorrow's good." I agreed.

"Great! Ah, I'm so excited! I'll see you tomorrow then, Chizuru! You take care now!"

"I will. You too, Ryoka! See you!"

When the call ended, I walked over to the living room and scanned the calendar that was hanging in the wall. I had a week to prepare, which was good.

When I got to work and told the chief about the news, he was so happy. Word spread around the workplace pretty fast, too. Everyone kept on telling me how lucky I was and how easily laid out everything seemed for me.

I only laughed and agreed with them. It was true that I didn't really do anything. Perhaps the only thing I contributed was to wait long hours outside. Everything else was made possible because of Toshinori.

Speaking of him, while I was busy practicing and preparing at work, Toshinori seemed to have his time pretty occupied as well. He rarely sends me a message now. I even tried to ask him if we could meet up after work, but he apologized and told me he was busy.

And as the days drew nearer, I could feel my anxiety slowly devouring me. The night before the interview was the worst. I nervously kept pacing around the house that I was so glad when I saw my phone light up with a new message from Toshinori. I haven't heard from him in a while and it helped me get a break from my thoughts.

 **SMS**

 **"What do you usually do when you're nervous about something?"**

 ** _1 new message from:_** **俊典** **(Toshinori)**

It didn't take me a while to think of what my answer would be.

 **千鶴** **(Chizuru): Well.. I I tell myself to relax and I eat something that I really like to calm me down. Sometimes talking to a friend about it helps as well.**

I actually did this a few hours ago. I was suddenly so stressed that I bought my favorite blueberry cheesecake downtown and chowed on it as soon as I got home.

Then out of curiosity, I sent Toshinori another text.

 **千鶴** **(Chizuru): Why do you ask? Yagi-san are you nervous about something too? You can talk to me about it if you'd like. :)**

Toshinori didn't reply anymore after that. I waited some more for a message, but nothing came. It suddenly got me wondering about what he must be worried about.

Eventually, I didn't realize it, but I was able to fall asleep despite my mind running wild last night.

The first thing I checked in the morning when I woke up was my phone. It seemed that Toshinori left a message for me after all.

 **俊典** **(Toshinori): Good luck with All Might and the interview!**

But I was a bit surprised. The time indicated that his message was sent at 2:30 in the morning.

 _Why on earth was he still up at that hour?_

I kind of felt bad for him. He must have been really busy.

But Toshinori's message also got me feeling giddy. I could feel the adrenaline pumping through me now as I jumped up from my bed, grabbing one of my small might figurines in my room and held it high above the air like a kid. I was so pumped up.

"Today's the day!" I shrieked out loud and giggled like crazy.

I faced my All Might poster, reflecting on the words PLUS ULTRA that was written on it as I nodded my head with determination.

"Oh I'm going Plus Ultra today, alright!" I yelled as I rushed to the bathroom to prepare for my most awaited day.


	9. Chapter 9: The interview

**Author's Notes**

 _Hi everyone! Just some quick interruption.. I'm REALLY sorry that it took me a lot of time to upload a new chapter. I got a bit inconsistent as college is seriously no joke. I even got sick so I didn't really have time to work on the story. Please forgive me. ;( Nonetheless, here it is and I hope you guys like it! Thank you so much for your time, patience, and continuous support. Have a wonderful day!_

* * *

 **(Toshinori's POV)**

I couldn't get any proper sleep at all last night. Interviews weren't new to me but knowing that it was Chizuru who I was going to face made me very tense.

I did everything I could to get some sleep-drank some hot milk, watched some TV, filled out the crossword puzzles of every newspaper I had—but it was all useless. I just kept tossing and turning in my bed.

Some of my students even described me as "acting weird" back at the academy. Young Midoriya told me about it when we had a small discussion inside the office a few days ago.

"They sensed that there was something different about you these past few days." He informed me once we sat there inside, facing each other.

 _Have I really been acting weird? I didn't even notice it myself._

"All Might.. Has something been going on in your mind lately?" Midoriya asked me; his wide eyes clearly expressing his weariness.

"It's nothing. Tell them that I'm perfectly fine." I answered with a wide grin on my face as I reached on the top of his head to give it a pat.

Morning finally came and I woke up with a splitting headache. 2 hours of sleep was definitely not good but I had to get moving as I didn't want to be late.

Moments later, I found myself staring back at my frail, disheveled image that was wearing an oversized, yellow suit in front of the mirror.

I buffed myself up into All Might, filling the room with smoke and fogging up the mirror because of the vapor that was emitting from my body. Wiping away the fog on the mirror with my hand, I was able to see my brawny self once again. Now my headache began to clear and things immediately felt better.

"You can do this." I said as I gave myself a thumbs up and a wide smile for a confidence boost before leaving the house.

 **SMS**

 **"Thank you, Yagi-san! I'm actually on my way now. I'm so excited! You go have a nice day!** **(ﾉ** **'ヮ** **')ﾉ** ***: ･ﾟ** **"**

 **1 new message from: 千鶴** **(Chizuru)**

My eyes widened. _S-She's on her way..!_

With my face heating up, I suddenly deflated back to my real form upon reading her message—coughing and spluttering blood once again from my mouth.

"Tch.. Dammit." I cursed under my breath as I wiped with the back of my hand the blood on the corner of my lip.

I carefully observed my wimpy reflection in the mirror again and frowned.

 _How can anyone look at me like this and just not think of how pathetic I am?_

 **• • •**

 **(Chizuru's POV)**

"He's here! All Might is here!"

I frantically stood up from my chair to take a peek and clumsily bumped against my desk; knocking down my styrofoam cup. Thankfully, nothing spilled as I already drank the content of it a while ago.

"F-For real!?" Both my voice and my hands were quivering as I asked. My heart was pounding so fast. I should have known that drinking coffee today was a bad idea.

"Nope, just some practice." Ryoka replied as she broke into an amused grin.

"You're so tense! Take it easy, Chizuru!" She added while laughing.

"Ugh, I would if you'd stop teasing me that All Might has arrived every 3 minutes." I groaned and narrowed my eyes at her.

"Okay I'll stop, I'm sorry. I don't mean to pressure you." Ryoka apologized and giggled. I sighed as I heavily sat down on my chair again.

" _Ne, ne._ Have you brought the gift though?" Ryoka delightedly asked me with her eyes lighting up.

"I did. But... Is it really okay to give him something?" I nervously asked.

"Of course it is!"

I found myself staring at my bag with the package of All Might's present slightly peeking at the top. He must be getting gifts from people a lot so things like this must be common for him.

"I just hope he likes it, you know?" I muttered softly.

"Oh I'm sure he'll like it. We had some extra work done on that so it would fit him perfectly!" Ryoka beamed as she clasped both of her palms together.

"Right.." I murmured. Somehow, I could sense that Ryoka was eyeing me carefully. She must have noticed that I was somewhat lacking the energy today.

"Oi, oi. What happened to your positivity and excitement? What happened to PLUS ULTRA!?" She suddenly asked me with both of her hands gripping down her waist. Her brows were also knit down as she stared at me.

"Ah well... I'm just nervous." I replied with a cheeky grin while I was scratching my cheek with my finger. Ryoka's face then softened as she broke into a small, encouraging smile.

"Hey, don't worry about it. You've got this!" She told me as she placed a hand my shoulder. I let out a deep breath and smiled back at her, followed by a firm nod.

But it wasn't even a few moments later when someone from the staff suddenly barged in from the door.

"He's here! Get to your places! Make sure everything is all set and presentable!"

Upon the hectic order, I gulped as my eyes darted everywhere, watching everyone who began to move out of their places in a swift motion. My mind felt lost at that moment.

"Namikawa-san. Are you ready? We'll leave the rest to you."

Reality suddenly slapped me back when I turned around and saw the chief who was standing just behind me, wearing a proud smile on his face.

I blinked. It took me a few seconds to register what he just said.

"Chief! Yes, you can count on me! I'll do my very best!" I quickly answered with a solemn grin.

Ryoka accompanied me as we went to the room where the interview would be held. We rarely used this room as it was only intended for special occasions. I especially loved the view of the city's skyscrapers that can be viewed from the clear and wide window. It was a bright and sunny day outside.

There were two white single couches inside placed facing each other as well. The chief had them ordered a week ago for this special day. I thought it blended well with the cream walls of the room, making the environment look nice and clean.

There were some bustling noise outside the building that could be heard all the way up here. I peeked down the window and saw a heap of people squeezing against each other as All Might slowly emerged from the cab.

My eyes twinkled at the sight. It seemed like he was glowing while his broad shoulders shook as he smiled and laughed at the people who greeted him. Security was quick to cover for him as they pushed the people back, trying to clear up the path for him.

I watched as they escorted All Might inside until he disappeared from my line of sight.

 _Any minute now and he'd be up here._

Closing my eyes, I breathed in some air and slowly exhaled a few times. It helps wear off my nervousness.

A few moments later, the sound of heels clicking on the floor and people's indistinct chattering suddenly alarmed me. I snapped my head to face the door and my eyes widened as I saw All Might walking down the hallway, talking to a few people beside him. They were the ones who escorted him up here.

When he was only a few meters away from entering the room, he looked at my direction and our eyes instantly met. I simply stared at his approaching figure until he was finally standing right in front of me. This wasn't the first time that I was able to see him up close, but I don't think I'll ever get over the fact of how insanely tall he was. His undoubtedly strong energy and warm presence had me in awe again.

"This is Chizuru Namikawa. She'll be the one to ask you questions for this morning." One of our employees gladly introduced me.

"It's an honor to meet the number one hero, All Might." I greeted. I had to look up at him as I spoke, serving him one of my best smiles. I still can't believe that all of this is actually happening. It felt like my insides were going to explode.

My heart was pounding so fast as I reached my hand out to him. All Might took it and gave it a strong and firm shake, sending a shock throughout my body.

"No need to be so formal! This isn't the first time we've met!" He told me. His voice was incredibly rich and full. I chuckled as a light blush spreads across my face.

"Please, do sit down.." I kindly urged All Might as I pointed to one of the new chairs.

"Um.. Can we get you anything before we start? Some coffee or tea?" I asked All Might once we settled down and were now sitting right across each other.

"Thank you, but I'm okay." He answered with his wide grin still intact.

"If you please excuse us. We'll be leaving Ms. Namikawa with All Might so they can start with the interview."

My eyes suddenly glanced at Ryoka who was behind the staff that led All Might up here. She was mouthing the words "DO YOUR BEST!" at me with such a silly face as they left the room. I couldn't help but smirk.

"You're smiling." All Might suddenly pointed out once everyone in the room has left and the door closed with a soft click. I snapped my head to his direction, blushing intently.

"Ah, I'm really sorry! I just saw something.." Feeling very embarrassed, I cupped a hand over my mouth and apologized.

"No, don't be sorry. I'm actually glad you're smiling. Things shouldn't be so serious and formal." All Might rested his back against the chair and smiled. The tone of his voice also softened a bit.

I was speechless at first. He was talking to me so casually. I never expected him to address me this way. This was unbelievable.

"Well.. As long as you're comfortable." I grinned.

"Um anyway let's see here.." I began to reach out to my small spiral notebook that was placed down at the glass coffee table between us. The questions I needed to ask were all there. I then flipped the cover page open.

"Shall we begin?" I kindly asked.

"Ah, just don't interrogate me."

We both laughed at his remark and proceeded with the interview—my nervousness eventually fading away.

I always perceived All Might as someone intimidating; him being the strongest hero and all. Rather, it came out as a shock to me how easy-going he was today. The tension in me soon vanished and finally stopped bothering me.

All Might smiled and laughed a lot at the interview. I guess I should no longer be surprised as these were one of the things he's known for. He was actually pretty funny, too. I couldn't help but giggle every few minutes. He was a naturally charming man.

"Looks like we've finished all the questions. All Might, thank you so much for your participation." I thanked him once I flipped the last page of the questions I scribbled on my notebook. It was actually sad as I didn't want to bring this moment to an end yet.

"Really? Are you sure that I was able to answer everything?" All Might asked me.

"Actually... I've got a lot of questions in mind about you. But they're not included here in the set of course."

"How about you try asking me one of those?"

The pupils of my eyes may have dilated. That really caught my attention.

"Ah.. There's no need.. They're probably too personal.. It's not a good idea." I shook my head, chuckling and looking away sheepishly.

"Go on. We still have time." All Might insisted.

"A-Are you sure?" My eyes were practically lighting up like fireworks now as I eagerly glanced back at him.

"Sure, let's see what you've got." He replied with a grin. I almost squealed. All Might was one of the nicest guys ever. I gulped in my throat before I spoke.

"Okay well.. I'm kind of nervous to ask about this one in particular but no one's ever heard of the controversy about you having a love interest."

All Might chuckled afterwards.

"Oh wow that's.. Heh. A love interest? I never had one. My life is really just composed of hero duties." He calmly told me.

"I see. Your will really is strong. Never considered one until now, huh?"

"For now, at least. But maybe I will someday. Who knows?" With this, he released a hearty laugh.

"I'm sure she'll be very lucky. Who wouldn't want to be with the number one hero? I know I would." I said with a smile.

All Might lowered his head a little and raised his eyebrows at me. I gave him a look of confusion at first, wondering why he was looking at me like that when I finally realized why. My whole face heated up in an instant.

"I-It's not what you think! I don't like you! I-I mean.. I do like you b-but not in the.. You know?" My professionalism and calmness was suddenly swept away as I desperately came up with an explanation. Sweat dripped down on my forehead and I could feel my palms going cold as well.

All Might was smiling but he remained silent. _Why isn't he saying anything?_ I started to grow more anxious.

 _Calm down, Chizuru. You should have put an end to this earlier. So just please end this right now or else..._

I cleared my throat and struggled to keep my voice from shaking.

"Anyway.. T-That was a very wonderful interview! But please excuse me first and don't leave yet. We have something special for you.."

All Might nodded his head and I fast-walked my way out of the room. I was surprised when everyone's heads were poking up from their desks, looking at me intently like they had been waiting for me all this time.

 _"How did it go?"_

 _"What did All Might have to say?"_

 _"Is it over?"_

All of them were whispering each of their different concerns. Then I noticed Ryoka who suddenly walked up to me. She was smiling very cheerfully, waiting for me to say something.

"It... Went very well!" I gladly announced. Everyone exhaled all the tension in their chest and began to congratulate me softly; their cheers only coming out as murmurs. The overwhelming feeling of happiness quickly enveloped me.

"Thank you.. Everyone, thank you so much! I really wouldn't have done this without your help.." I mumbled quite embarrassingly. I just wasn't used to getting this much attention and praise.

"This is really one of the best moments that's ever happened in this company. Everyone's really thankful to have you, Chizuru! You're the best!" Ryoka told me sweetly as she pulled me in for a tight hug. I wrapped back my arms around her.

"I may have done something a little embarrassing though.." I whispered to her. Ryoka backed away and turned her head to me.

"Really? What happened?" She asked me. I blushed and nervously chuckled.

"Um.. We'll talk about that later. For now, I need to give All Might's present. I'm really nervous." I muttered to her. Ryoka grabbed both of my hands and held it to her chest.

"It's not over yet so you still have to do your very best! You can do it! Now go get that present and put a smile on All Might's face like no other!" Ryoka exclaimed as she pulled a fist up in the air.

I gave her a firm nod and ran to my desk, grabbing the neatly wrapped present inside my bag and proceeded back to the room where All Might kept still and waited for me.

"All Might.. This is just a small gift from all of us. I admit that words and this present right here isn't enough to show how thankful we are, but nevertheless, I hope you like it.." I slowly walked over to him and handed him the present with my shaky arms.

"You didn't have to.. But I want to let you know that I'm beyond grateful for this. Thank you!" All Might took me by surprise when he suddenly got up from his seat—his tall figure now looming over me—and while bending down a bit, he pulled me into him and gave me a warm hug.

I was completely astounded. For this day, this was the only thing I didn't prepare for.

While my face was buried in his chest, all I could register in my mind at that moment was how light and safe I felt. All Might was just that person who could cast all your fears and troubles away with his mere presence. He was, after all, the symbol of peace.

I tried to speak up, but my lips and my entire body were just frozen in place. My cheeks were flaming up like hell as well, like I just munched one big chili pepper. There was suddenly too much excitement building up in me that the situation felt like my heart was going to burst anytime.

"I'm sorry. I must have surprised you." All Might pulled away and apologized, chuckling and smoothing the back of his head after.

"N-No! It's okay, heh.. I-I'm really honored!" I replied a little too loudly and enthusiastically.

"Allow me to talk to you again some other time." He followed with a grin.

"You mean another interview?"

"I don't mean an interview. I'd be glad to do one again, but what I mean is just some other day to hang out. I'd love to get to know a person like you more! But only if you'd like." All Might answered. It took me a while to process the things he was saying. It seems that every time I get excited over All Might, I lose my brain cells.

 _Did he just ask me out..?_

At this moment, my mouth was really on the verge of gaping open.

 _Ugh, stop coming to conclusions. I'm sure it's just some friendly gesture._ I argued back with myself.

But studying All Might's face, his expression seemed to have softened. He was looking a little vulnerable now, with his tight smile and arched eyebrows, and I couldn't help but think of the first one. The thought of it made my cheeks blush once again.

"Sure! I'd be glad to!" I responded gladly and calmly. But truth is, my stomach was churning like butterflies were going wild inside my gut as if they were punching me.

"That's great! I'll be sure to contact you. I'll see you soon, Ms. Namikawa." All Might extended out his hand and I took it to give him a firm handshake. He then raised one thumb at me for approval and I laughed gleefully.

"It was such an honor and pleasure to be with you today, All Might." I replied as I looked up at the brave, kind-hearted, and muscular man in front of me with wonder and full admiration.


	10. Chapter 10: A Reservation?

**Chizuru's POV**

"Ryoka, do you have a minute?" I suddenly asked Ryoka while we were packing our things right after work.

"Yeah, of course. Why?" She answered as she turned to face me.

"I just need to tell you something." I replied as I cautiously eyed the room. There didn't seem to be anyone close enough to hear us. Most of them already headed home.

"Sure thing!"

It had been two days since that fateful day that I was able to interview All Might. I haven't really spoken to anyone about what he had told me on that same day as well. Not even with Toshinori. I was simply too shy to talk about it.

But now, I figured that I would try and tell it to Ryoka. As we were both women, maybe I'd be able to pick up some of her views regarding it. I admit that I haven't been able to stop thinking about it ever since. It just seemed too unreal for me.

"Well? What is it?" Ryoka asked me. I suddenly got really nervous.

"Well its... How do I put this, um.. About All Might," I slowly began. I was trying to be careful of my choice of words.

"Hmm?" Ryoka was eyeing me curiously. I gulped in my throat. Why was I so nervous anyway?

"He, um.. Well I might be seeing him again and..."

Ryoka's eyes seemed to glint.

"He asked you out?" She asked me before I could even finish my sentence. My cheeks suddenly flamed red in an instant.

"What? No! I-It's not like that!" I quickly answered as I furiously flailed my hands up and down.

"Eh... Then why?" She frowned and sounded disappointed.

"I actually don't know.. I mean, all he said was that he wanted to talk to me again." I mumbled as I embarrassingly kept my gaze on the ground.

"That's all?"

"Y-Yes. That's all."

"When's this happening?"

"Ah... I don't know. I haven't heard from him yet. Maybe he's busy. Or maybe he forgot about it." I answered with a small smile.

"Chizuru. You know that fake smile isn't fooling anyone. Least of all _me._ " Ryoka told me as she formed a teasing smirk with her lips.

"Wha—I don't understand.."

"Come on! There must have been something about you that made the number one hero want to see you again." Ryoka winked at me.

"Like what? There's nothing special about me." I sighed and answered. Ryoka shook her head in disapproval.

"First of all, you're really pretty. Second, I honestly think you're pretty charismatic. I mean you do tend to get shy sometimes but hey—some people dig that. It's cute!" She told me.

"Ah! I almost forgot!" Ryoka suddenly bellowed as she snaps her fingers, making me jump from shock.

"Your smile is one of your best assets, too! I wouldn't be surprised if even the strongest hero wasn't able to resist it." She added with the motion of one of her fingers pointing upward.

"Jeeze.. Stop saying such silly things." I muttered softly with my face still heating up.

"But they're all true." Ryoka said with a laugh.

"Look, like I said, he hasn't tried to contact me yet or anything. Chances are, he's probably forgotten about—"

I cut myself off when my phone suddenly buzzed inside my pocket. I grabbed it and took it out so I could take a glance over who it was.

"Hold on. Looks like someone just sent me a message in my business email.." I informed Ryoka as I clicked on the message for its full view.

"Really? Who is it?" She asked me as she tried to take a peek on my screen.

"Hmm, let's see... The recipient here reads that it's from All—"

I stopped reading.

My eyes felt like they were going to pop out of their eye sockets. I quickly pressed my phone against my chest in a frenzy.

" _Nani?_ " Ryoka gave me a puzzled expression.

"Who was it?" She repeated curiously.

"Nothing! Hehe, just some spam!" I replied with a nervous laugh as I shoved back my phone inside my pocket with shaky hands.

"Really? That's too bad.." Ryoka said as she backed away from me.

"Y-Yeah.. Anyway, it's getting pretty late. We should probably head home." I advised. To this, Ryoka nods her head in agreement.

"And please don't tell anyone about what I just told you. We're not even sure if he's serious so..."

"Don't worry about it! I promise not to tell anyone. I respect that it's a secret between you and All Might." She replied, giving me another wink.

"It's not really a secret but I would really appreciate it if you wouldn't tell anyone, so thank you.." I told her with a pout.

Me and Ryoka left the office as soon as we were done packing up. After bidding each other our goodbyes, we now went our separate ways.

I still couldn't take my phone out, even though I was itching to read that message. I had to resist first because for some reason, I wanted to open it as soon as I reached home.

I paced faster than the usual tonight as I began walking along the street in search of a cab.

I have never wanted to get home so badly in my entire life.

 **• • •**

 **Toshinori's POV**

 _ **Send this message?**_

 **[** ** _Yes_** **]**

 **[** ** _Cancel_** **]**

My hand was practically shaking as I carefully hovered the mouse pointer over the box that had the word Yes in it. But I wasn't ready to click it just yet.

 _I'll go through the entire message one more time, and then I'll definitely hit send._

For the record, I have read the message over twenty times for the past thirty minutes. I just wanted to make sure that every thing was okay.

 _Is it too straight forward?_

 _Perhaps it's a little bit too long._ _.._

 _Come on, Toshinori. End your suffering and just click it already._

"All Might! What's that you got there?"

Someone's voice suddenly emerged from behind me. To my great surprise and panic, I accidentally clicked on the box right away.

"Huh—W-What..!?"

 ** _Message sent successfully!_**

My eyes went wide with horror as I stared at the message being displayed on the screen. _Shit._

Scrambling to close the tab I had of my email, I quickly turned around to find Midnight and Present Mic standing beside each other. Cold sweat began pouring down on my forehead.

 _Did they see what I was doing?_

"Hey! Uh.. What's up?" I asked them both while trying to play it cool, even though my heart was anxiously pounding.

"Something weird is going on about you." Midnight said, to which Present Mic began nodding his head in agreement. My chest suddenly tightened.

"What do you mean? I don't think there's anything weird about me." I managed to answer calmly.

"You've been pretty... I don't know, occupied more than the usual? Are you really okay? You might be overdoing yourself again." Yamada added in question.

"I'm grateful for your concern but I'm doing just fine, really.." I replied with a small smile as I ran my hand at the back of my neck. They don't seem like they noticed anything after all.

"It's too bad that you don't drink. You know you can always hang out with us for a break!" Yamada encouraged as he stretched both of his arms widely.

"You should come and see how hard Shota drinks like it's just juice. It's really entertaining!"

Breaking into a grin, Yamada then turns to the side to take a peek at Aizawa, who seemed to be relaxing in his own desk.

Aizawa doesn't respond. Instead, he closes his eyes and lowers his chin down to his chest. In a matter of seconds, he was already snoring.

"I'd really love to, but I just can't seem to take a break off work. Not even on the weekends because I have to train Mido—I mean.. I do my own training." I explained to them, followed by a chuckle.

"You should really put some spice in your life or you'd end up dying early!" Yamada exclaimed.

Suddenly, my injury began to throb with pain as if it was some kind of response to Yamada's I barely even winced because I had been used to supressing it after all these years.

"That's not a very nice thing to say." Midnight scolded as she nudged Yamada using her elbow.

"Relax. I meant it as a figure of speech." He defended.

"All I'm saying is that you should learn to have fun!" Yamada added as he raised both of his arms and pointed his fingers at me.

"I'll see to it next week. Maybe I can hang out with you guys again." I told them with a smile on my face as I tried to ignore the pain that seemed to be throbbing with every inch of my body.

 **• • •**

 **Chizuru's POV**

The moment I arrived at the doorstep, I quickly got rid of my shoes—almost tripping over the floor as I took them off—and charged straight to my room.

I immediately locked the door as soon as I was inside, even though I lived alone. Finally, with itching and fumbling hands, I was able to pull out my phone from my pocket.

My heart began pounding nervously as I checked my emails once again. It didn't take a while for me to get back on that particular message.

There it is. There's no mistaking it. Back at the office, I wasn't ready to believe it and thought that maybe I was just hallucinating. But the displayed name and message were there clear as day.

 **From: All Might**

 **Subject: Interview**

 **"Greetings! It is I, All Might! I know it hasn't been a long time, but have you been doing well?**

 **Once again, I would like to inform you that I certainly enjoyed the simple interview we held a few days ago. For that, I intended to reach out to you and ask if we could gather at some place since it is now my turn to ask you a bunch of questions. (Might include personal ones too! Ha!)**

 **I also kindly advise not to spread this email as this is certainly not my official or personal email (but I assure you that I am the real All Might). I will deactivate it in 2 days due to security and safety reasons. I hope I will be able to get an answer from you before then!**

 **Nevertheless, know that it is from lovely citizens such as yourself that I am able to muster inspiration and strength to fulfill my duties as the Symbol of Peace. Continue being wonderful and have a splendid day!** **"**

I merely blinked and did not how to react. I literally had no response as if my mind was set up on reboot.

After minutes of staring blankly at the screen, a few thoughts were now forming inside my head.

 _No_. _This can't be. There must have been some mistake..._

I thought to myself as I re-read the message all over again for the second, third, and fourth time. All while shaking my head in disbelief.

 _Maybe this is just some prank._

With a frown now formulating on my face, I began tapping at my phone for a response.

 **To: All Might**

 **Re: Interview**

 **"Pardon me, Mr. "All Might", but how would I know if you're honestly who you claim to be?"**

I heaved out a heavy sigh as I sank down on the floor, feeling completely drained and confused. Part of me wanted it to be true, of course. But a part of me was also thinking how I wasn't ready to face All Might again.

I didn't know why I felt so nervous around him. It was just so unprofessional.

 _ **Bzzzt!**_

I quickly grabbed my phone like some rabid animal hungry for food. My eyes widened with anticipation when I received a reply not even moments later from the alleged All Might sender.

 **From: All Might**  
 **Re: Interview**

 **"Certainly, I am! I understand your skepticism, but you can try and see me for yourself! Tell me the place and time and I guarantee you that I shall show up."**

I realized that I needed help regarding this so I decided to give Toshinori a call. I was very glad and relieved when he was able to pick up right away.

"Yagi-san!" I greeted him a little too loudly.

"Ch-Chizuru? Er, what made you call..?" Toshinori asked me. His voice on the phone sounded funny today.

"I just needed to ask you something. I'm not disturbing you, am I..?" I consciously asked.

"No, no, it's fine! I'm not really doing anything. Go ahead, what is it?"

At that moment, my mind was on a ramble if I should already spill the news or not. In the end, I didn't have the courage to tell him yet. I'd get humiliated if it didn't turn out to be the real All Might after all.

"Well... Do you know of any place that doesn't get too crowded? Just somewhere that doesn't attract too many people?" I asked him.

"That's kind of a hard one. You can't really avoid people but if you dislike having too much of them around, one of the options might be to go to a fancy place.. I think people don't usually gather around for long around costly areas." Toshinori answered.

"Why do you ask? Do you want to be left alone for a while?" He continued.

"O-Oh um.. It's not for me. I'll be meeting up with an old friend. I guess you can say that he's not really fond of crowded places. Heh.." I nervously replied. I felt kind of bad knowing that I was lying to him about this.

"I see... There's not really much that I can think of. I'm sorry, Chizuru.." Toshinori sadly apologized.

"Maybe a high class restaurant would do. I mean, it's a rare occasion anyway..." I muttered.

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yeah. We rarely see each other anyway so spending some little extra money wouldn't hurt to see him again." I gladly replied.

"You always think about other people. You know I really admire that about you." Toshinori told me which made a warm blush spread across my cheeks.

"Oh come on. I'm sure you'd do the same." I smiled and replied.

"Sure, if it's someone special." He chuckled.

"Haha yeah? Like who?"

"I don't know.. Like you?"

Upon hearing Toshinori's response, my conversation with Ryoka from back at the office suddenly began flashing back to me.

 _"There must have been something about you that made the number one hero want to see you again."_

 _"Like what? There's nothing special about me."_

Toshinori seemed to have noticed that I wasn't talking, so now his end of the line turned silent too. Because of me, the atmosphere has now gotten awkward.

I don't even know why that term always makes me stop and think. I'm grateful for it, but I guess I wasn't used to it. No matter what people say about me, I could never perceive myself as someone who has the ability to stand out or be treated favorably than the rest.

It's not like I disliked being appreciated. I just simply couldn't see it in myself what they could possibly be seeing in me.

"Um.. We should probably get some sleep.." Toshinori suddenly muttered to my relief. Otherwise, the situation would have been unbearable.

"Right, right! It is getting pretty late. You must be pretty tired too." I replied with a slight chuckle.

"Yeah.. I won't deny that." He snorted.

"Well, good night! And thanks again for listening to me.."

"You're always welcome. Have a good night's sleep!" Toshinori replied warmly as ever. I secretly smiled and hung up; the phone emitting a small beep.

Now, all that was left of me was to stare back at my phone screen while I thought about what I should do with All Might.

 _A high class restaurant, huh? Will that really decrease the chances of attracting crowds?_

My choice was probably not a good idea. Perhaps a casual diner would seem okay. I didn't want to end up wasting a good amount of money for reservations in case All Might doesn't show up after all.

But what if he does show up? _Then_ it would draw too much attention.

 _Ugh_. _Why can't you just make up your mind?_

"Whatever, I'll just take risks." I groaned as I began typing in for a new reply—stating in my message that I was settling with this particular fancy restaurant—and that he should tell me right away if it was okay with him so I could go ahead and make two seat reservations.

I then patiently waited for a reply, making me pace restlessly around the house. The minutes turned into hours but still, nothing came. Up until the next morning, I couldn't help but feel disappointed. My phone seemed drier than the desert. There wasn't even a single notification.

Oh well... On the side note, at least I wasn't able to unnecessarily spend any money.

 **• • •**

"Good morning, Chizuru!" Ryoka greeted me as soon as she spotted me heading to my desk at work today.

"Good morning!" I cheerfully greeted back. I already forced myself to forget about the incident last night as if it never happened.

That sender was probably a fake, anyway. It was already considered a miracle to be able to see and talk to All Might in person. I was even more fortunate since I got to interact with him two times. One was from that villain incident, while the other was from the interview.

Those instances were more than enough already.

"Say, some mail arrived for you today. It was addressed for you here in this office." Ryoka suddenly mentioned to me.

"A mail?" I asked curiously. No one sends me mails anymore. The only time I'm able to receive mails would be notices to pay my overdue electricity bills. I figured that those would be addressed at home, not in the office.

Ryoka walked over to me and handed me a short, white envelope. She was right. It did have my name indicated on the top corner, followed by the address of my workplace down below.

"Thanks, Ryoka." I said to her as I turned back to my desk while studying the envelope. Surprisingly, it didn't have a return address either.

"No problem! You weren't here yet so I took it in for you."

Without any further hesitation, I broke the envelope's seal and peeked at what was inside.

There wasn't even any letter but only a small card in the middle. I took it out of the envelope to get a better view. It seemed like a pretty fancy card.

 **Priority Seating**  
 **神** **楽坂 石かわ**

( **KAGURAZAKA ISHIKAWA)**

 **Name:**  
 **Chizuru Namikawa**

 **No. of Guests:**  
 **2**

 **Date:**  
 **03\. 04. 19**

 **Time:**  
 **7:30 pm**

It was a reservation ticket happening later tonight from the restaurant I picked last night. I was so confused. Plus, it was written that there would be two guests.

 _But I didn't even make reservations yet so how come..._

It was then that it suddenly hit me. I dropped my hands down to my desk in slow motion, staring blankly ahead as I finally came into this shocking realization.

One that really made me question myself whether I should smile or scream...


	11. Chapter 11: A Mighty Dinner

_Quick notice: I decided to divide this chapter into two parts to avoid the inconvenience of the entire chapter being too long to read. I hope you enjoy!_

* * *

 **(Chizuru's POV)**

"You're going to have a WHAT!?" Ryoka yelled in surprise. I quickly shushed her and looked around the office in a worried stance. Few people turned their heads at us. Some were confused, while some had annoyance etched on their faces.

"Hey..! You have to be quiet or we'll get in trouble.." I scolded her as I dragged and lowered ourselves down on our desks for cover.

"Are you really sure that that's All Might? I mean... It could be just some random creep wanting to meet up with you." Ryoka whispered to me.

"Honestly, I'm not a hundred percent sure about it." I answered softly.

"But it just matches with the events from last night. This couldn't be just some perfectly timed coincidence." I continued, finishing off with a sigh.

"Well... What are you gonna do about it? You're coming?"

I looked hard down on the envelope I had in my palm. I took out the ticket and studied them again one more time.

"We won't know if this is real unless I try." I replied, gazing back at her with a hopeful smile.

 **• • •**

 **(Toshinori's POV)**

U.A.'s bell rang, indicating the time for lunch break of the students. I waited a few minutes before pulling out my phone and dialed young Midoriya's number.

"A-All Might?" Midoriya said upon picking up. From the sound of his voice, I can tell he was being quiet and cautious just in case anyone hears him. So far, that boy's doing good at hiding the ties I have with him.

"Midoriya, my boy. I just want to tell you that I'm afraid we won't be doing any training later today." I informed him.

"I see.. May I know why?"

"I've got business to take care of tonight. So just take this day as your day-off. You deserve a break too." I answered with a soft grin.

"Really? Okay, I will then!" Midoriya replied cheerfully.

"Good luck with that business, All Might. I hope everything's alright." He added.

"Don't worry. It's just a date—"

I quickly pursed my lips shut as soon as I heard myself. Panic began rising up my chest. _Why the hell did I just say that?_

"A-Ahh, I-I mean it's—"

"A what? S-Sorry, Iida was trying to tell me something and I couldn't focus..." Midoriya seemed to be whispering through the receiever.

"You... Didn't hear what I said?" I anxiously asked with my cellphone pressed hard on my ear, not moving an inch.

"No, I didn't. I'm sorry, All Might." He apologized again. It seems that he's really telling the truth. A huge sigh of relief escaped my lips.

"I meant to say that it's nothing to worry about. That's all." I answered with a slight chuckle.

"Ah... That's good then."

"Well, you take care of yourself now. We'll continue tomorrow."

" _Hai!_ You too, All Might! Thank you!"

I ended the call and placed the phone back in my pocket. I then hovered a look over my watch. I'll have to leave U.A. in three hours to prepare and check out the venue; make sure everything's safe and alright.

I have to admit, this whole thing was making me restless since last night. But I'm more confident this time that I can handle it better in my hero form.

Things _always_ turn out better in my hero form.

 _You don't even know yet if she's going to show up or not._

The thought suddenly entered my head as I was walking in the hallway. I paused.

 _Indeed, it would be quite a waste if I went there and she didn't show up after all. But how am I going to ask her without giving myself away?_

Plucking out my phone once more, I decided to send Chizuru a text message.

 **SMS**

 **俊典 (Toshinori): Hey, are you there?**

Luckily, she replied not a few minutes later.

 **千鶴 (Chizuru): Hi! Yeah, what's up?**

 **俊典 (Toshinori): I was just wondering if you can come eat with me later tonight? Just needed someone to hang out with.**

 **千鶴 (Chizuru): What time?**

 **俊典 (Toshinori): Around 7 pm? If it's okay with you..**

My phone suddenly buzzed in my hand and the sound of my annoying ringtone, as everyone in UA would address it, started ringing.

" _Moshi moshi._ " I answered.

"Yagi-san!"

My lips formed a small smile as soon as I heard Chizuru's melodious voice speak to me through the phone.

"Haha.. Hey, is everything okay?" I asked her. There was silence on her end for a few seconds.

" _A-Ano..._ I don't think I can come with you tonight.." She informed me; her voice trailing off.

"Oh that's too bad.. Are you busy?"

"Y-Yeah.. I have something to take care of first. I'm really sorry.." Chizuru apologized. She sounded really sad, which made me feel guilty.

"Hey, don't worry about it.. It's okay. I understand if you've got something to take care of." I reassured her.

"Hmm.. You sure you're not upset?"

"No, of course not!"

Why would I when I'd still be seeing you today anyway? I still win. I proudly thought in my head while grinning to myself. To my surprise, Chizuru started giggling.

"Yagi-san, you really don't know how to get mad, do you?" She teased.

"I do know how.. I just don't get mad that often." I chuckled.

"You're too pure as always.. Anyway, I'm afraid I have to get back to work. I'll have to finish a few papers before I can have my break." Chizuru explained and sighed afterwards.

"Alright. Guess I'll see you la—ah, s-some other time then."

"Yup! I promise I'll make it up to you. Bye-bye for now!" She chirped goodbye.

 _ **Beep.**_

"The hell are you grinning there for?" A gruff voice suddenly erupted behind me as soon as the call ended, making me jump. I turned around and saw Aizawa staring at me with his dead pan expression.

"N-Nothing! Just checking up on a friend." I clarified nervously.

"Friend, huh? You were practically grinning from ear to ear while you were chatting." He mentioned with a look of disbelief. Blood immediately came rushing up to my bony cheeks.

"Aha, er... I believe you're overthinking, Aizawa-san." I replied while anxiously smoothing the back of my head.

"Ah, well it's none of my business anyway. See you later." He roughly said as he resumed walking and eventually passed by me.

"O-Okay, see you later!" I responded a little too loudly. I need to be more cautious of him as he really just keeps popping out of nowhere.

Not that there was anything to hide.. For privacy and safety reasons, I just wasn't ready for anyone to know that I was having contact with a pretty girl.

 **• • •**

 **(Chizuru's POV)**

"Miss, we're here."

"Oi miss, can you hear me?"

"H-Hah?" I snapped my head to the direction of the cab driver, who turns out had been calling my attention. The moment the car stopped, I had been observing the fancy restaurant through the window; too anxious to get out.

"S-Sorry..." I quickly apologized as I fished out a bunch of bills in my purse and made payment to the driver.

"You seem to be lost in thought. Are you okay?"

"I'm alright. I'm getting off now.. Thank you." I told the driver and finally mustered the courage to get out of the cab.

I gulped. _This is it._

My knees seemed to be shaking as I walked my way to the entrance, where an attendant was standing before a podium just before the door.

"Hi and good evening! How can I help you?" The woman greeted me with a warm smile.

"U-Um... I've got a reservation ticket right here. Let me just er... Hold on."

As I fished inside my purse for the ticket, I soon began to frown when it was taking too long for me to grasp it.

"I swear I put it in my purse before I left..." I whispered to myself; getting more and more frustrated with each second that I still didn't have the ticket in hand.

"Ugh! Where the hell is it?"

"Are you having trouble finding your ticket, ma'am?" The attendant asked me.

"Yes. I definitely put it in my purse before I left the house. Unless I dropped it on the cab.. Gah. This is so annoying." I groaned.

"May I know your name? I can check it here on our guest list and you can just present to me any one of your valid IDs for verification." She kindly suggested.

"It's Chizuru.. Namikawa, Chizuru. But I don't think I have an ID with me either." I replied with a heavy sigh.

 _"Chizuru, you should bring this purse with you. This would be a match to your dazzling outfit!"_

Ryoka's words from a while ago suddenly flashed in my head. She offered to help me get changed after work and was also the one who arranged the stuff in my purse right now. She got rid of all my IDs and other calling cards, saying that they would be unnecessary for tonight.

Instead, she packed in all the "necessary stuff" such as make up and perfume. The only thing I could remember putting in was the ticket. Fortunately, the thing that was actually necessary was what I couldn't find.

I should have known that leaving all my stuff at home was a bad idea. What the hell am I going to do now?

"Let's see here... Ah, there is a reservation for Ms. Chizuru Namikawa. But I'm afraid that we really need your ID for verification.." The woman told me. She could only give me an apologetic look as she could probably see how distressed I was.

I didn't respond. Instead, I was thinking of what my next step will be. Should I go home and check if I left it after all? What if I really lost it back at the cab? God, this was really troublesome.

An idea suddenly entered my head. I decided to mail the alleged All Might sender about my problem.

 **To: All Might**

 **Subject: Help?**

 **Hey, Mr. "All Might"! Have you arrived? I know it's stupid, but I think I lost my ticket. I kind of need your help down here on the entrance. They won't let me in without proof.**

I was surprised when a reply was made right away.

 **From: All Might**

 **Re: Help?**

 **No wonder. I thought you weren't coming anymore. Alright, please lend me your patience. I'll be there in a second!**

My heart suddenly began pounding twice as fast. _Wait, is this real? Is it really going to be All Might who's going to appear through that door?_

Gripping my purse tightly in my hand, I swallowed hard in my throat as I stared at the entrance door, anticipating anyone who would be coming outside.

What sounds like a commotion going on inside the fancy diner broke off in a few seconds, catching mine and the attendant's attention. I got even more jittery, knowing that I couldn't see anything from inside.

The attendant then left her post and walked to the glass door, which suddenly opened from the inside as soon as she held the door handle.

The woman was taken aback when All Might's tall and huge figure emerged. From the look of astonishment on her face, I'm guessing that it took her a few seconds to process what she was seeing.

And honestly, I think her and I were on the same boat. I was staring at him as if he were an apparition. Also, it was like a slap in the face knowing that I had been doubting his e-mails and his efforts to reach me when he was the real deal all along.

"There you are! I'm sorry that you had been waiting out here. I already talked to the staff so you can come in now." All Might beamed with a big smile on his face as he walked toward me. He was dressed in a striking yellow suit paired with a red bow tie.

I couldn't help but wonder how yellow seemed to be the perfect color for him. For me, it symbolizes liveliness, power, and hope—which he all possessed.

"I-It's no problem! I'm the one who should be sorry 'cause I lost my ticket.." I managed to reply without choking on my own words.

"Hey, don't worry about it! It's okay." He grinned.

Upon that reply, something weird suddenly hit me. I couldn't help but recall that those were Toshinori's exact same words when I called him back at lunch. Now I was ashamed _and_ guilty for not being there for my friend and lying to him about all this.

"Well then.. Shall we go in?" The hero politely asked, quickly disrupting my thoughts as he went to my side and offered his arm for me to take. My jaw almost dropped. I looked at him, hesitating on whether or not should I really be allowed to accept the gesture.

All Might immediately noticed the crisis I was in and gave a soft chuckle. I was a little surprised hearing it as it was different from his booming laughter that you would often hear from him.

"Go on, you can take it." He gently said as he moved his arm closer to me.

"Ah—O-Okay!" I smiled and mumbled shyly as I gently took hold of his strong arm. Imagining every defined muscle beneath his suit that I was now clinging onto was driving me crazy.

"You might want to excuse the people inside once we get in. Don't mind them and just keep walking, okay?" All Might lowered his head down and whispered.

I was keeping my lips pursed to avoid shrieking out of excitement. I simply nodded my head and smiled in response as All Might and I entered the restaurant while walking in unison.


	12. Chapter 11-2: A Mighty Dinner

**(Chizuru's POV)**

People's heads were quick to turn to our direction when All Might and I had gotten inside. A few of them tried to stand from their tables to approach him, but there were waiters that stepped in and requested that they remain in their seats.

I'm actually glad that there weren't as many people as you'd publicly expect. I just couldn't believe that my stupid skepticism was the reason All Might was risking his privacy.

 _"We sure got lucky we found All Might here."_

 _"You're right. I didn't even notice him come through the entrance! Was he already here long before we came?"_

My ears accidentally eavesdropped on the sound of two people conversing about All Might's shocking appearance.

Come to think of it, even the attendant outside was completely shocked as I was upon seeing him. If he already went through that same door, wouldn't she be a little less surprised?

 _Of course he's going to try and make that a secret as well to avoid any commotion. Yet you spoiled it all again because you lost your stupid ticket._

I was trying so hard not to pull a sour face because of my own self-arguments. Better not let my own self ruin this night.

 _"Hey, do you know who that woman is though?"_

 _"No idea. You think that might be her girlfriend?"_

 _"I don't know. He's a little older now, so maybe that's actually his secret wife?"_

My face was fuming with heat while listening to these crazy comments. I peeked at All Might to see if he was picking up the same things I was hearing, but there didn't seem to be anything unusual with his expression. Either he's not hearing it, or he's not bothered at all.

 _Why can't you do the same, Chizuru?_

We finally reached our table, which was designated on a seperate, private room. I wasn't exaggerating when I say that everything looked extravagant; from the surrounding decorations, the furniture, as well as the tablewares.

I would have been broke for months if I was actually the one who bought the reservation.

One of the waiters suddenly walked toward us, waiting for me to sit down so he could push my seat close to the table when All Might suddenly stopped him.

"It's okay. I'll do it. She's my date after all." He gestured with a soft grin. The waiter nodded his head and backed away while the gentle hero escorted me to my seat. My cheeks seemed to flush brighter than a neon light.

 _S-So this is a date after all!?_

"You've been silent for a while. Are you okay?" All Might suddenly asked me looking a bit concerned.

"I'm perfectly fine! I can't say thank you enough for all this, really. I'm just surprised, that's all." I explained sheepishly.

"Surprised, huh. I guess you really thought someone was just trying to trick you by imitating me."

"O-Oh about that... I'm really sorry for doubting you.." I lowered my head and apologized.

"I completely understand. The important thing is that you're already here! Do pick anything you'd like and I sincerely hope you'll enjoy this night." All Might addressed as he handed to me the menu.

"Thank you! I think I'll just have a uh..." My eyes widened when I started scanning the meal prices. I wanted to pick something less costly, but there was nothing on the menu that indicated that.

I only went for some seafood as I preferred that more than meat. All Might was even trying to get me to order some dessert, but I kindly refused out of shyness. I even had to make an excuse that I didn't really like sweets, which was a terrible lie.

"Wait, you are?" He asked as he wore a skeptic look on his face which made me blush. Surely he doesn't know about my preferences, right?

"Y-Yeah, why?" I nervously replied. Whatever I do, I just can't seem to act and talk like a professional right now. Things really turn out different every time I'm out of my workplace.

All Might grinned and shook his head. "It's nothing. But if you want anything else, just tell me, okay?"

"I will.. Thank you so much, Mr. All Might." I replied with delight.

The tension in me eventually faded as we conversed. I was also starting to warm up to him once again with my intimidation also being buried each time he made me laugh. I almost forgot how genuinely funny this man was.

"Say, Namikawa-san..."

"Oh—please just call me Chizuru." I interrupted with a small smile.

"Alright." All Might grinned back.

"What is it?"

"Hmm.. I just wanted to ask you about your quirk if you have one.." He questioned.

"I do have one. I can absorb energy from people even at a distance. I can manipulate it, and use it as my own to heal injuries. As weird as it is though, I can only heal myself." I answered.

"Also, I learned that if I absorb it from people who aren't that powerful, the weakening effect would be doubled. So even if I do harm myself, I never use it to my advantage." I further explained.

"I see. That's actually a pretty interesting quirk."

"You think? Ah.. I think it's a selfish quirk though." I pointed out.

"And if you absorb it from people with.. Say, immense power?" He continued.

"I don't think they'd feel any weakening effects. As for them, it would only be like losing 0.3% of your power. Which actually reminds me of you, All Might."

"Haha.. Me?"

"Yes. Back at UA.. That time when I took a photo of you. You were just radiating so much energy that I was automatically absorbing it. But I don't think I even got close to absorbing 0.1% of your power." I chortled.

"Well I wouldn't have the right to be called the symbol of peace if I didn't possess this power. It's all for the benefit of achieving a community where everyone can smile and live in peace." All Might proudly stated.

Seeing him enthuse about his ideals made my eyes sparkle. My fangirl instincts were just kicking in that it was so hard not to squeal as a response.

"You're so amazing. That's why I love you so much!" I blurted out.

"Well I love you too." He replied back, making me choke on the water that I was supposedly drinking and started coughing into fits.

"Chizuru-san! What's the matter?" All Might asked as he frantically stood up from his seat and hurried over to my side.

"No...Nothing! I'm... I-I'm okay!" I stammered in between coughs.

"Are you sure? Your face seems to be turning red. Are you feeling any discomfort? Please be honest with me." He pressed further, leaning his head down and glancing at me with worry.

"A-Ahh.. I'm fine, really! Please don't worry.." I replied as I tried to keep my gaze down on the ground. I was too shy and embarassed to look at him. Not when his face was almost too close to mine!

"Well okay.."

All Might backed away and I was finally able to breathe easier. Using the napkin on the table, I then wiped my mouth and folded it on my lap afterwards.

"S-Sorry I just... Choked. Ah.. That was really embarassing.." I mumbled.

"Don't be. You actually had me worried there for a moment."

I glanced at him and he still had that worried look etched on his face. I giggled.

"What's so funny?" Now he was looking at me with a baffled expression.

"You worry too much, Mr. All Might. You remind me of someone I know." I replied then gave a faint smile. It was his turn to blush and laugh this time.

"Of course. I worry a lot over people I care about." He casually replied, meeting directly with my eyes. My heart suddenly began pounding with excitement.

God. Why does everything he say always come out so smoothly? I also didn't have any idea if he was trying to flirt with me or not. He could have meant it in a general way. Eitherway, it was very hard to tell.

When we finally got to finishing our food—which tasted exemplary, by the way—All Might had called for the bill and paid for everything. He wouldn't even let me know how much everything costed, insisting that it was all on him.

He also stated that he was very lucky that I accepted his offer, which I thought was a very silly thing to say as the only one feeling lucky and grateful should be me.

 **(All Might's POV)**

By the time our date was done, it was almost 10 pm. I set the date only with the intended time of 1 hour but I didn't realize that I had exceeded. Due to my weakened body, I now had a strict time limit of 3 hours a day to bulk into my hero form. And based on my calculations, I probably only had 30 minutes to spare before I deflate back into my true form.

 _Shit, Toshinori. You're as careless as ever._

"Anyway All Might, I definitely had a wonderful time with you." Chizuru told me while wearing the sweetest smile ever. She looked so beautiful tonight that I guess it was no longer questionable why I had lost track of time.

"But I'm afraid I have to head home.. I've got work in the morning and I'm sure you're going to be pretty busy with your hero duties too. I just hope I didn't interrupt any of your work tonight.." She lowered her head down and continued. She was probably feeling all shy again.

"Definitely not, so don't worry about it. And yes, I think it's about time already. Do you want me to take you home?" I kindly suggested. Chizuru seemed surprised by my offer as her cheeks noticeably flushed pink.

Even I was taken by surprise by what I was saying. You would have thought that I would be in a hurry to go home with time running out, but something else inside of me was speaking on my behalf.

"T-Take me home?" She repeated.

"Well yes, to avoid any more expenses. Rest assured you'd be a lot safer too. But only if you'd like." I explained further.

"W-Well I..." Chizuru really seemed to be contemplating it.

"I really appreciate it, but you've done so much for me already and I just have to refuse this one.." She answered.

"I see. You're a very honest person and that makes me glad." I replied with a tight smile.

"Yes, but... I-I guess you can take me home some other time..." She muttered with a trailing voice.

I assumed that it was her way of saying that she wanted to meet up with me again. She was really cute. The thought of it already had me going excited.

"I'd be more than glad to. But for now, I'll just see you off until your cab arrives."

Chizuru made no objections to this so we sat and talked for awhile while waiting for her ride to arrive. Another thing I liked the most about her was that she was a very cheerful person. She smiled and laughed a lot, even if she was feeling shy.

"Ah, my ride home is almost near. I should go." She mentioned a few minutes later.

" _Ano..._ Please don't go out of the restaurant. I'm afraid people might see you. It's fine if you just walk me to the door." She added worryingly.

"Hey, no worries. I can walk you straight to the cab." I stated. I could tell that she was about to protest, but then realized that I would probably insist again—which is true—and just gave up on it.

I walked her out of the restaurant and was also the one who opened the car door for her. Once she was inside, I proceeded to the front door to have a word with the driver.

"A-All M-Might!?" The man stammered in question as he stared at me in awe.

"Young man! Can you do me a favor?" I beamed to the driver.

"Yes, yes of course! Anything!"

"Just be cautious when driving and please drop her home safely." I requested. I then glanced at Chizuru who was seated at the back, wearing a goofy smile on her face.

"So that's why you wanted to walk me all the way to the cab." She mused.

"Well it is my duty to ensure every citizen's safety." I replied with a smirk.

"Oh all right, Mr. All Might. Pretty sure the driver would fulfill your request." She said with a giggle.

"Definitely! It's the least I can do for the number one hero!" The driver chided in. Chizuru and I both laughed.

"I'll reach out to you again soon. You take care." I addressed to Chizuru before closing the door.

"Don't forget to take care of yourself too. And good night." She answered back, showing to me another one her charming smiles that never fails to make my insides flutter. Seems cheesy, but this was literally the kind of effect she has on me at the moment.

 _You definitely like her._

I quickly slammed the door before I ended up saying anything else that would only embarass me. I didn't lay my eyes off the cab when it finally drove off until it was already out of my sight.

I then snuck into a dark alley in order to return back to my true form. Thankfully, no one had noticed me yet as there were few people walking by on the streets at this time.

 **(Toshinori's POV)**

Now it was back to being timid Toshinori again. If it was him who faced Chizuru tonight, I never would have done all the things I did or had said. I wasn't wrong when I said that things always turn out better in my hero form. It was obvious that she liked All Might better, too.

 _What's your next step then? Are you going to keep on dating her in secret?_

I shrugged. Planning things like this was harder than it seemed because I was also playing two roles at once. Dishonesty belonged to the things I hated the most, yet the irony kicks in as I'm also the one engaging in it. Now I hated myself even more.

The thought of revealing my two identities being merged in the same person just scared me. I could never reveal that to Chizuru. No, she'll get freaked out for sure. She'll stop trusting me and I sure as hell didn't want to lose her.

At that moment, I decided I'd slowly scrap Toshinori out of her life. That way, I wouldn't be lying to her anymore. I balled my fists tightly when a wave of frustration suddenly hit me.

 _All Might's definitely better for her anyway. What can this pathetic, skinny loser like me do for her?_

And maybe...

Just maybe.

I might finally be able to tell her this strange feeling that I have for her.


End file.
